Africa Outlook Issue 4

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more than

C o n t i n u e s Airtel Ghana

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Upwardly mobile

Bophelong Construction

Taking the high road

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t o

d i v e r s i f y

Investment Profile 10

Angola

Goldplat

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Profits, not gold

AFRICA OUTOOK ISSUE 04 A LSO THIS ISSUE : M e d h o l d | B r o l l N i g e r i a | Ta n ga n d a T e a | S u p e r C l e a n

W E L C O M E Inside Exxaro Exxaro is one of South Africa’s largest diversified resources groups with interests in coal, mineral sands, ferrous and energy commodities and this month they’ve given us exclusive access.

In an interview with Ernst Venter, Executive Head - Growth, Technology & Services, we learn about how the firm is diversifying and why we should expect a bright future for South Africa’s second-largest coal producer.

The firm has been focused on diversifying and optimising its portfolio, ensuring “future, sustainability and achieving operational excellence”, Venter says. When the company was formed six years ago through the merger of Kumba Resources and Eyesizwe, it committed to “creating a company that would make a sustainable difference.”

You can read the full interview with Ernst on page 18.

This month we also look at investing in Angola, talk to Airtel Ghana’s Philip Sowah about the country’s “buoyant” telecoms sector and, as part of our mining focus, we talk to Goldplat plc CEO Russell Lamming, the man refocusing the AIMlisted firm.

Ian Armitage Enjoy the Editor, Outlook Publishing magazine.

Editorial Editor: Ian Armitage ian.armitage@outlookpublishing.com

production Production Manager: Clare Durrant clare.durrant@outlookpublishing.com

Business Sales Director: Nick Norris nick.norris@outlookpublishing.com Sales: Eddie Clinton eddie.clinton@outlookpublishing.com Sales: Donovan Smith donovan.smith@outlookpublishing.com Projects Director: James Mitchell james.mitchell@outlookpublishing.com Project Managers: Debbie Clark debbie.clark@outlookpublishing.com Sheridan Halls sheridan.halls@outlookpublishing.com Stuart Shirra stuart.shirra@outlookpublishing.com Eleanor Watson eleanor.watson@outlookpublishing.com

Accounts Financial Administrator: Abby Nightingale Suzanne Welsh accounts@outlookpublishing.com Office Administrator: Daniel George daniel.george@outlookpublishing.com Magazine Design: Optic Juice Ltd Images: Getty Digital & IT: Hamit Saka Helpdesk: James LeMay

Outlook Publishing Managing Director: Ben Weaver ben.weaver@outlookpublishing.com Chairman: Mark Weaver Contact Africa Outlook / UK 22 Wensum Street, Norwich, UK, NR3 1HY Sales: +44 (0) 1603 559 551 Editorial: +44 (0) 1603 559 144 Fax: +44 (0) 1603 559 553 Africa Outlook / SA The Colosseum, First Floor, Century Way, Century City, Cape Town, 7441 Tel: +27 (0) 21 527 0053 Subscriptions Tel: +44 (0)1603 559 144 ian.armitage@outlookpublishing.com

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C O N T E N T S In this issue of Africa Outlook...

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NEWS All the latest news from across Africa I n v es t m en t p r o f i l e

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Angola

Africa Outlook takes a closer look at Angola’s business and investment potential

18

E n t r e p r ene u r s h i p

14

The age of entrepreneurship?

Recent studies show a worrying and very steep decline in the number of new businesses being started in South Africa

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82 110 4

86

70 104

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116 128

M o r e t h an black gold Exxaro is one of South Africa’s largest diversified resources groups

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cover

Mining

D TC B o t swana : A c u t a b o v e t h e r es t In 2011 De Beers and the Botswana government signed a ten-year agreement to move the London DTC to Botswana

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D r i v in g o p e r a t i o na l e x c e l l en c e Africa Outlook profiles South African phosphates firm Foskor

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Construction

Mining

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Profits, not gold We talk to Goldplat plc CEO Russell Lamming

Technolo gy Airtel Ghana: U p w a r d ly m o b i l e With Ghana’s oil find, its telecoms and ICT industry has been somewhat overshadowed in recent years

86

Smart clean power Clean Power Systems provides cost effective, clean power products that reduce operating expenses for mobile networks

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P e r i ta r g e t s A f r i c a Theunis Visser, Head of Business Development at Peri Southern Africa, is heading the company’s moves into the continent

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Property Invest in Nigeria!

Erejuwa Gbadebo, CEO of Broll Property Services Nigeria, discusses the “huge potential” of the country’s property industry

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Supply Chain

Manufacturing

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Ta k i n g t h e l e a d Kenya’s Davis & Shirtliff has been rapidly expanding its horizons across East Africa

Invest for success A programme of continuous improvement and investment is paying off at Hersol Manufacturing Laboratories

W e ’ r e C l e a n i n g up SuperClean is one of the most successful privately owned commercial cleaning companies in South Africa

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FOOD & DRINK

104

Healthcare Prognosis for growth Johannesburg-based Medhold Medical is a leader in the Healthcare Device Industry

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Ta k i n g t h e h i g h r o a d Africa Outlook talks to James Popper, CEO of Bophelong Construction

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A w h a t B e au - t e a Tanganda Tea Company Limited is the largest producer, packer and distributor of tea products in Zimbabwe

Finance

136 142

T o p l i s & Ha r d i n g In wake of disaster: the new frontier

E VENTS Events from across Africa

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N E W S News

Nelson Mandela critical South Africa’s ex-President Nelson Mandela has become critically ill in hospital, the Presidency has announced.

President Jacob Zuma and ANC Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Mr Mandela and spoken to his wife and medical teams.

“The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well-looked after and is comfortable. He is in good hands,” said President Zuma in a statement released on June 23.

Mr Mandela, 94, was taken to hospital in Pretoria on June 4 for the third time this year, with a lung infection.

Mr Zuma said he had been told by doctors that the former President’s condition had worsened.

He and Mr Ramaphosa were also assured by doctors that when the ambulance transporting Mr Mandela to hospital on June 8 developed engine problems, all care was taken to ensure that his medical condition was not compromised.

“There were seven doctors in the convoy who were in full control of the situation throughout the period. He had expert medical care. The fully equipped military ICU ambulance had a full complement of specialist medical staff including intensive

care specialists and ICU nurses.

The doctors also dismissed the media reports that Madiba suffered cardiac arrest. There is no truth at all in that report,” said President Zuma.

He appealed for prayers for Mr Mandela and his medical team.

Tr avel

Fastjet gets clearance for African routes African budget airline Fastjet, backed by easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has been granted permission to launch international flights from Tanzania to South Africa, Zambia and Rwanda.

Fastjet said the route approvals had been granted by the relevant governments under the Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs) between Tanzania and the other countries.

Ed Winter, CEO and Chairman of Fastjet, said: “This is a monumental day in Fastjet’s history and brings us closer to our goal of becoming Africa’s first pan continental low-cost airline. To date our growth has been inhibited by lack of international routes in our network.

We have expended huge effort over the past six months in obtaining these rights and we can only thank the government and population of Tanzania who have lobbied hard to allow us to gain access to the bilateral rights to operate to these countries. We will

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soon announce launch dates for flights to Johannesburg, Kigali and Lusaka from Dar es Salaam.

“We are especially pleased to be launching flights between Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg and we expect this to be a particularly popular route. South African Airways has had a monopoly on this route for far too long and we are very keen to offer substantially more affordable fares to customers and further stimulate the potential traffic between these key African cities. This can only have a very positive effect on the critical trade, commercial and tourism industries between South Africa and Tanzania.”

The company said it was putting its plans to launch a domestic service in South Africa on hold.

“Bringing the Fastjet brand to South Africa is a cornerstone in the creation of our pan-African network,”

Winter explained. “We remain totally committed to launching the Fastjet brand in South Africa as soon as possible, but given all the time and effort the team has invested over the past months to secure our international route designations, we have taken the sensible decision to prioritise setting up these lucrative and high profile routes first, before turning our attention to launch the Fastjet brand on domestic routes in South Africa.”

Fastjet recently agreed to create a low-cost airline operating within Nigeria, jointly with Nigeria’s Red 1 Airways.

“The combination of Fastjet’s brand and experience and Red 1’s extensive knowledge of the local aviation market and Nigerian business landscape is a perfect foundation for a great airline. The Nigerian people deserve a new airline offering great value and operating to international standards of safety and reliability,” Winter said.

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Business

Business

Telkom requires “complete transformation”

Mining faces “crisis in confidence” says PwC

Sipho Maseko, who took over as the CEO of embattled telecommunications group Telkom in April, has said that the JSE-listed group requires “a complete transformation” and that “tough decisions will have to be made”.

“Our results reaffirm the need to take bold action to turn around the Group’s financial trajectory,” Maseko said in a statement accompanying its financial year-end results where Telkom reported a R11.7 billion loss. “Despite the current financial performance, there is significant opportunity for Telkom to build a profitable and sustainable business that is able to support South Africa’s economic development.

“Success will require a complete transformation of the Group,” he added. “Tough decisions will have to be made, particularly regarding costs. In this regard our immediate focus will be reviewing our staff numbers, optimising our property portfolio and decommissioning of unprofitable services.”

Telkom is currently undertaking a full strategic review, focusing on short and medium-term interventions to unlock value.

“It is critical for us to put our customers at the centre of what we do to improve our service delivery and enhance their experience,” Maseko said. “The upgrade of Telkom’s network, which will accelerate over the medium-term, is essential to achieve this objective.”

PwC’s latest report on mining trends - the 10th review of global trends in the mining industry by the multinational professional services firm – has revealed that the industry had entered a period where there is a “crisis in confidence” about cost controls, delivery and resource nationalisation.

In a survey of the world’s top 40 mining companies, PwC said the net profits had fallen 49 percent last year, while market capitalisation had been severely battered in the first four months of this year.

“2013 will be all about asset rationalisation and deal activity will be driven mainly by senior miners looking to divest non-core assets and looking to de-risk projects through joint ventures,” Tim Goldsmith, PwC’s global mining leader, said, adding, “Given how far the mining industry has fallen in the first four months of this year, it will be challenging for the industry to fully rebound in the remainder of 2013.”

PwC warned that companies with financial constraints have been “forced to get creative” when it came to raising money to fund acquisitions or advance projects.

It expected that to continue well into 2013.

Sp o r t

Nigeria crash out of Confederations Cup Nigeria have crashed out of the Confederations Cup in Brazil after losing 3-0 to World and European champions Spain.

The score line was cruel on Stephen Keshi’s young Super Eagles side, which played some nice football and caused some problems for Spain’s defence with John Mikel Obi and Sunday Mba going close.

“We played against a better side, a team who’ve been together for a long time,” Keshi said. “It’s a learning process for us, it’s good. We have to continue from where we stopped here and build on that.”

Business

Angola LNG Project sends first gas export to Brazil Angola has announced it has started producing and exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), with its first cargo leaving for Brazil.

“Angola LNG is entering the market at an exciting time,” said Artur Pereira, the spokesman for Angola LNG. The first cargo was sold to Angola’s state oil and gas company Sonangol and is currently being shipped to Brazil by the SS Sonangol Sambizanga, one of seven 160,000m3 LNG vessels that are under long-term charter to the Angola LNG project.

“The world LNG market is expected to remain tight over the coming years, with very limited new LNG capacity coming onstream. We are delighted to be producing and shipping our first LNG cargo,” Pereira said in a statement.

Angola LNG said it plans to produce 5.2 million tonnes of LNG a year from its Soyo plant.

The company is a joint venture between Sonangol, Chevron, BP, ENI and Total. The project has an expected life span of at least 30 years.

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N E W S Business

Business

MTN loses Myanmar bid African telecoms giant MTN has lost the bid for one of two licences to roll out and operate a mobile network in Myanmar.

In a statement MTN said it was “disappointed” but added that the country remained an attractive market and that it would review other options as they became available.

“In keeping with our strategy to continue exploring and evaluating suitable opportunities for further growth in developing countries, MTN still considers Myanmar an attractive market. To this end, we will review other options as they become available, and make a decision after the appropriate due consideration,” it said.

The MTN Consortium, which included Myanmar-based Amara

SA PMI improves, manufacturing remains tough

Communications and M1 Telecom Limited, had competed with 11 other bidders for the opportunity to develop the currently underdeveloped network in the nation.

Telenor Mobile Communications of Norway and Qatar Telecom, which changed its name to Ooredoo, were awarded telecommunications licences by the Telecommunications Operator Tender Evaluation and Selection Committee.

South Africa’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to a four-month high in June, it has been revealed.

The seasonally adjusted index increased to 51.6 from 50.4 in May, Johannesburg-based Kagiso Tiso Holdings said.

A number above 50 indicates growth in factory output.

“While the latest PMI results

Business

Sinopec buys $1.5bn stake in Angola oil field China Petrochemical Corporation, also known as Sinopec, has agreed a deal to buy U.S. firm Marathon Oil Corporation’s stake in an Angolan oil and gas field.

Sinpoec will pay $1.52 billion for Marathon’s 10 percent stake in Block 31.

In a statement Marathon said its “subsidiary, Marathon International Oil Angola Block 31 Limited, has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its 10 percent working interest in the Production Sharing Contract and Joint Operating Agreement in Block 31 offshore Angola to SSI Thirty-One Limited (Sonangol Sinopec International)”.

“This transaction highlights the shareholder value we have created through exploration success in Angola, as well as our commitment to financial discipline and efforts to profitably grow the Company,” said Clarence P. Cazalot, Jr., Marathon Oil chairman, president and CEO. “We expect to use the proceeds from this sale to repurchase shares, strengthen the balance sheet and for general corporate purposes.”

The deal is subject to approval by Chinese and Angolan governments.

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show that conditions improved marginally, the outlook for the sector is expected to remain challenging in an environment of muted demand and relatively high input prices,” said Abdul Davids, head of research at Kagiso.

There was a modest improvement across all the major sub-indices, except the employment sub-index, which continued to decline.

The business activity index reached 52.2 points and the new sales orders index increased by 2.9 points to 54.

The Bureau for Economic Research based at the University of Stellenbosch near Cape Town conducts the PMI survey for Kagiso.

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Business

Business

Japan’s Prime Minister hails Africa Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has described Africa as a “growth centre” and said now is the time to invest in the continent.

Speaking at the end of a three-day conference co-hosted with the African Union (AU), World Bank and UN on African development in Yokohama, Mr Abe said, “Africa will be a growth centre over the next couple of decades until the middle of this century... now is the time for us to invest in Africa.

“Japan will not simply bring natural resources from Africa to Japan. We want to realise industrialisation in Africa that will generate employment and growth,” he added.

Japan pledged $32 billion in aid over the next five years to Africa, including money to tackle militants, create jobs and develop infrastructure.

“We hope to further support and continue to expand together with Africa.

We hope to develop a win-win situation in our relationship,’’ Mr Abe said.

Carrefour partners with CFAO, targets Africa expansion French retail giant Carrefour, the world’s second-largest retailer, is targeting sub-Saharan Africa’s booming consumer markets and will begin setting up shop on the west coast of the continent within the next two years following the launch of a new joint venture with the Africa-focused trading and distribution company CFAO. The deal will see the opening of new outlets across eight Central and West African countries.

Destinations include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Gabon, Senegal and Nigeria.

“As the world’s second-largest retailer with a presence in over 30 countries, Carrefour will contribute its expertise as a multi-format retailer as well as the strength of its banner. CFAO, with its longstanding

local presence in Africa, will bring its thorough knowledge of these markets and a deep understanding of consumer habits to the venture,” Carrefour said.

The new venture will be owned at 55 percent by CFAO and 45 percent

by Carrefour.

Their first project will be a shopping centre in Côte d’Ivoire, due to open in 2015.

The venture is reportedly targeting revenues of over 1 billion euros by 2023.

Business

Sanlam business up 30 percent Sanlam, one of South Africa’s leading financial services groups, has announced that, for the four months ended April 2103‚ its new business volumes were up 30 percent at R49 billion.

Releasing an operational update‚ it said business clusters largely performed well, with Sanlam Personal Finance recording a 28 percent increase in new business sales.

The Investment cluster also grew new business volumes by 48 percent, with Wealth Management, Investment Services and International operations achieving strong growth.

Commenting on the results, Sanlam Group Chief Executive, Dr Johan van Zyl, said consistent focus on the diversification strategy supported the Group to absorb the relatively weak investment market performance in South Africa over the period as well as a challenging claims environment experienced by Santam.

Santam experienced continued high levels of claims frequency and severity in its traditional intermediated business. This was aggravated by flood related claims, an increase in commercial fire claims and significant hail and drought claims in its agriculture business.

“We are satisfied with our performance and will continue to implement our strategy which we believe has delivered value for our shareholders,” he said.

Looking ahead‚ it said it does not anticipate any material improvement in the economic environment for the remainder of the year.

“We anticipate the current economic climate will continue to pose challenges and the trading conditions will remain challenging for the rest of the year. However, we expect that our continued focus on strategy will see us through,” Dr Van Zyl added.

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i n v estment

p r o f i le

t en m t es in v a l o g an profile:

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a n g ol a

Africa Outlook takes a closer look at Angola’s business and investment potential.

Writer Ian Armitage

f you’ve been on our website at any point in the last month, you’d have noticed that Angola has been a fixture in our news section with numerous multi-billion dollar business deals – Chevron’s LNG milestone probably the biggest story.

Angola is a land of extremes. Many Angolans live in deep poverty, but its economy is the third largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. And, while Angola ranks 172nd out of 183 for ease of doing business (IFC “Doing Business” Report 2012), foreign investment is flowing into the country.

Angola’s economy expanded 7.4 percent in 2012 and the government forecasts growth of 7.1 percent this year. It ranks as one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

This really is a rag to riches story.

Since almost 30 years of war ended in 2002, the country has enjoyed a period of rapid and sustained economic growth. Much of this growth is directly attributable to the development of the oil and gas sector and Angola is Africa’s number two oil producer after Nigeria.

Wells continue to spill returns and results.

One firm gathering rich rewards in Angola is BP. In June it announced its PSVM project, the largest subsea oil and gas development, will reach peak production of 150,000 barrels of oil a day in December, earlier than previously expected - the company said in January that output wouldn’t reach that level until 2014.

The project is currently producing about 100,000 barrels a day, up from 70,000 barrels earlier this year, according to Martyn Morris, BP’s regional president.

“This is a milestone not just for Angola but also for the world,” he told Bloomberg.

Angola is one of BP’s most profitable production hubs and partners in

the project include state oil and gas company Sonangol and the Angolan state oil company Statoil ASA. “We are happy with how PSVM is doing,” Morris added BP also has a 13.6 percent stake in Angola LNG, a project led by U.S. supermajor Chevron.

It recently started producing and exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG), with its first cargo leaving for Brazil.

“Angola LNG is entering the market at an exciting time,” said Artur Pereira, the spokesman for Angola LNG. The first cargo was sold to Sonangol.

“The world LNG market is expected to remain tight over the coming years, with very limited new LNG capacity coming on-stream. We are delighted to be producing and shipping our first LNG cargo,” Pereira said in a statement.

Angola LNG said it plans to produce 5.2 million tonnes of LNG a year from its Soyo plant. “First gas at Angola LNG is an important milestone in support of our strategic plan to grow our production,” said George Kirkland, vice chairman of Chevron, the world’s third-largest energy company by market value.

“This project will commercialise natural gas resources in western Africa to meet growing demand in the region and internationally.”

It has an expected life span of at least 30 years.

“Angola LNG’s vision is to be a reliable and competitive supplier, a strong community partner, and a role model for the economic development of Angola.” said António órfão, Chairman, Angola LNG Ltd. “The project provides a solution to minimise flaring and environmental pollution by gathering associated gas from Angola’s offshore oil fields to provide clean and reliable energy to our customers and a return on investment for our shareholders.”

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i n v estment

p r o f i le

Not without challenges

Angola is one of BP’s most profitable production hubs

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Doing business in Angola is not as simple as it may seem though, and this is largely down to bureaucracy.

The first setback is money, as you must have a minimum capital of $1 million.

Experts also claim that the country’s state administration does not make life easy for companies, with procedures constantly multiplying.

Indeed, regulation can be a deterrent to foreign investors, such as the regulation requiring companies to pay taxes and facilitate other transactions through the country’s banking. But the country’s implementation of Basell III and the International Financial Reporting System (IFRS) will change this.

Also, the Angolan authorities have made significant efforts in recent years to modernise the country’s legislation and there have been significant changes to its tax system designed to make the country an attractive business partner.

Another problem however is that Angola’s capital Luanda is also one of the most expensive cities in the world.

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First gas at Angola LNG is an important milestone in support of our strategic plan to grow our production”

There are constant interruptions in the supply of water and electricity, meaning companies and industries have to use alternatives like water tanks and generators and there is also high absenteeism amongst local workers due to big families, contagious illnesses due to a lack of basic sanitation and insufficient skill levels.

Be warned.

a n g ol a

insufficient skills can be a problem

What a gem!

Oil isn’t the only story. It is about diamonds too, the country’s second largest export commodity after oil. Other minerals such as gold, barite, iron, copper, cobalt, granite and marble are also abundant.

Angola has cut mine taxes and plans to spend billions of dollars to attract investment into mineral deposits. Corporate taxes were reduced to 25 percent from 35 percent and market regulation responsibilities have been moved to a new, independent office.

Investment from the likes of diamond producer De Beers, which has found diamonds in a 3,000km² concession in the Lunda North province, has followed. De Beers pulled out of Angola in 2001 after losing the right to sell more than $800 million of gems. It went through three arbitration rounds with Endiama, the state diamond company, before returning in 2005.

In a recent Bloomberg interview, Pedro Lago de Carvalho, De Beers’ business manager in Angola, said Angola,(which had the fifth-largest gem output by value in 2011) lies behind only Russia and Canada in unexplored potential.

“We are confident we can find something that will allow us to recover all our investment. The contract is clear, there is no debate.”

Angola has many other investment opportunities, from construction to agriculture. To learn more visit www.anip.co.ao.

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E N T R E PR E N E U R S H IP

Entrepreneurship IN SA: It’s better than you think!

Recent studies show a worrying and very steep decline in the number of new businesses being started in South Africa. However, if one looks a bit deeper there is cause for optimism.

Writer Anton Ressel, Senior Consultant at Fetola

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b us i ness

he recent Quarterly Labour Force Survey by Statistics South Africa reports that over the past decade there has been a staggering 76 percent decline in the number of new businesses being registered, from 250,000 in 2001 to only 58,000 in 2011. However, as journalist Teigue Paine notes in a recent article, this is in all likelihood as much in response to increasingly onerous tax and labour laws in the country as to the recession or any other global economic conditions.

Paine quotes Adcorp’s labour economist Loane Sharp as saying that indications are that many small businesses and start ups have simply been forced ‘underground’ in response to deteriorating conditions for starting a small business. In a nutshell, Sharp argues that the figures we are seeing are not a true reflection of entrepreneurial activity but rather of an ‘informalisation’ of the South African economy in a bid to escape heavy tax and employment burdens placed by Government on the SMME sector, and business as a whole.

This is worrying on a number of levels because it suggests that the intentions of Government to create an enabling climate for small business are in fact doing the opposite. If small business is squeezed too tight by excessive Government regulation, trade union domination of the labour market and a business climate that stacks the odds against start-up success, one of two things happen – either the business simply cannot survive, so it closes (or fails to start), or it goes underground.

The much-vaunted potential of the SMME sector to create meaningful jobs and contribute to the economy is largely negated if entrepreneurs feel forced to operate ‘below the radar’ as a means of survival. An unregistered business does not

contribute to the tax pool, nor will it provide its employees with job security, contracts, PAYE, UIF and other benefits as laid out in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.

Entrepreneurial Renaissance

If small business is squeezed too tight by excessive Government regulation, trade union domination of the labour market and a business climate that stacks the odds against start-up success, one of two things happen – either the business simply cannot survive, so it closes (or fails to start), or it goes underground”

Fortunately though, not all is doom and gloom. Many organisations and individuals engaged ‘in the trenches’ in enterprise development and support to emerging entrepreneurs report increasingly positive signs of a renaissance in entrepreneurial activity, in contrast to the bleak reports. While the numbers may be down on paper, they say, the quality and innovativeness of the emerging business sector is cause for optimism.

“This year was by far the most promising since 2007 in terms of the quality and viability of the organisations who applied to be a part of our programme, we were blown away by the potential,” says Catherine Wijnberg, founder of the Legends programme, a national SMME and non-profit business incubator sponsored by Old Mutual.

Each year, Legends puts out a nationwide call to small businesses to apply to join the programme, which offers mentorship, business support, workshops, e-learning and other resources to support the growth of beneficiaries. “We had an inspiring pool of applicants this year, across a host of business sectors. A common theme was that people in all Provinces were determined to succeed, in spite of the difficult economic climate and restrictive legislation a new business is faced with in South Africa,” she adds.

Wijnberg cites the example of Legends beneficiary Molefinyana Seqhala, Founder of Seqhala Open Projects. This fast-growing electrical consulting and construction firm was started by Seqhala, a qualified electrician who identified a gap in the market for a multi-service provider of

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E N T R E PR E N E U R S H IP

electrical, building, maintenance and security services, in response to what he saw as domination of the market by one or two established players. In the past four years, Seqhala has grown a promising business – he has purchased several work vehicles, increased his turnover by over 800 percent and currently employs 15 people, with plans in place for expansion into manufacturing of building and related materials. A little over five years ago, Seqhala was an employee working for one of his competitors.

Informal but Influential

Donald Kau, Head of Corporate Affairs at Santam, concurs with Wijnberg on the upsurge in entrepreneurship. “I have many peers who started out really small who are now well established entrepreneurs.

Typically, they open an informal part-time business like a car wash or a hair salon, and the business expands organically over time to include complementary offerings such as a take-away or a spaza shop. Once they are properly established, which may take several years, many of them do indeed register their businesses – either because their suppliers or investors require them to do so, or because there may be licences and permits required to operate, such as with a tavern.”

These examples suggest that the informal or unregulated economy serves a purpose as an ‘incubator’ of potential, preparing businesses for the mainstream economy.

Rather than being seen in a negative light there may be an opportunity for government and the informal sector to work together to create an acceleration of entrepreneurship from grassroots level upwards.

Some measures might include tax exemption for start-ups for a set period, tax incentives and rewards for registering employees

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Only 58,000 new businesses were registered in 2011

This year was by far the most promising since 2007 in terms of the quality and viability of the organisations who applied to be a part of our programme”

b us i ness

for PAYE and UIF, easier access to loan finance and so on. The point is that informal businesses are an increasingly large part of the economy and many of them are thriving, with tremendous potential to become meaningful employers and contributors to the mainstream. One simply has to walk through a main road in Soweto, Khayelitsha or Diepsloot and see the plethora of grassroots enterprises on virtually every corner to recognise that entrepreneurship is not dead or dying in any way. Imagine how different the figures would look if every one of these businesses were registered?

Toby Chance, Managing Director of Adele Lucas Promotions, has also noticed an increase in the calibre of entrepreneurship over the past few years.

His company are the organisers of the Soweto Festival Expo, in which over 400 SMME’s participated last year. “2011 was the best Expo to date, and feedback was excellent. Some SMMEs have exhibited at every single event and their growth is clear, such as Molobi Enterprises who won the Radio 702 Small Business Competition, and Nqobile Nkosi, who has opened Soweto’s first jewellery manufacturing and retail shop in Vilakazi Street.”

While it would be foolhardy to ignore the statistics that point to an entrepreneurial sector in crisis, it is important to recognise that all is not doom and gloom, in fact it’s better than many think. There are new businesses being started by passionate, capable and determined entrepreneurs every day in SA, and while many of them will fly under the radar for some years, by necessity as much as by choice, hopefully the legislative and regulatory climate will shift sufficiently for them to emerge and take their rightful place as contributors to a country crying out for sustainable job creation through entrepreneurship.

Fetola, a Sotho word meaning ‘change’ or ‘changing’, specialises in assisting emerging entrepreneurs, SMMEs, grassroots projects and community based organisations to attain new levels of success through medium-to-long term business development programmes. To learn more about Legends or to apply for the programme in 2013 visit www.fetola.co.za.

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E X X AR O

black gold More than

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M I N I N G

Exxaro is one of South Africa’s largest diversified resources groups with interests in coal, mineral sands, ferrous and energy markets: Africa Outlook talks to Ernst Venter, Executive Head - Growth, Technology & Services, who says optimisation measures are paying off and that we should expect a bright future for the firm.

Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Debbie Clark

wC’s latest report on mining trends – the 10th review of global trends in the mining industry by the multinational professional services firm – has revealed that the industry has entered a period where there is a “crisis in confidence” about cost controls, delivery and resource nationalisation.

In a survey of the world’s top 40 mining companies, PwC said the net profits fell 49 percent last year, while

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Pure Stainless Steel B.E.E Level 2 Contributor ISO 9001:2008 Compliant

Tel: +27 11 814 8214/5 / +27 11 814 6244/5 Fax: +27 011 814 6648 Pure Stainless Steel Manufacturers is continually striving to provide the highest possible service levels to its customers, which include mayor African mining groups, gas and petroleum companies, engineering, construction, and power stations, by continually improving costs and lead times whilst maintaining an emphasis on quality.

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E-mail: puress@purestainless.co.za Web: www.purestainless.co.za We strive to deliver consistent quality efficiently, and to deliver on time.

To do our utmost best to maintain a safe working environment.

We trust that we will remain a long term reliable partner for our valued clients.

WHAT WE SUPPLY: Mild Steel Grizzly Bars, for coal crusher plants Stainless Steel (All Grades) Plate Sheets Pipes Fittings Round bar Square bar Hexagon bar Hollow Bar Mild Steel Carbon Steel plates Aluminium Standard Flanges, and special Flanges Tubes- seamless or welded Stainless Steel Gate Valves HDPE, PP, U-PVC & M-PVC Products

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market capitalisation had been severely battered in the first four months of this year.

“2013 will be all about asset rationalisation and deal activity will be driven mainly by senior miners looking to divest non-core assets and looking to derisk projects through joint ventures,” Tim Goldsmith, PwC’s global mining leader, said, adding, “Given how far the mining industry has fallen in the first four months of this year, it will be challenging for the industry to fully rebound in the remainder of 2013.”

PwC also warned that companies with financial constraints have been “forced to get creative” when it comes to raising money to fund acquisitions or advance projects.

“We’re very aware of what we need to do as a business to remain sustainable into the future,” says Ernst Venter, Exxaro’s Executive Head Growth, Technology & Services. “Generally, the business is looking satisfactory, except that last year was very challenging, apart from the things that we are doing like merging businesses and putting it all together and restructuring. The coal markets were challenging.”

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Haul trucks at Exxaro’s flagship Grootegeluk mine, situated in Limpopo province, South Africa, which is the world’s largest single pit open cast coal operation

We’re very aware of what we need to do as a business to remain sustainable into the future”

During 2012 Exxaro saw prices of iron ore and coal, pigments and slag go down.

Coal production was stable at 40 million tons but exports fell slightly, although it still exported four million tons which is higher than its entitlement at Richards Bay Coal Terminal.

Pure Stainless Steel Manufacturers cc

P

ure Stainless steel Manufacturers cc. is a successful business located in Nigel, Gauteng province, South Africa, that specialize in manufacturing and supplying off stainless steel products, as well as mild steel, aluminium and special steels.

We also have a division that supply HDPE, PP, U-PVC & M-PVC Products, and even the manholes and different fitting for these water or drainage systems.

We have also sourced from our suppliers in the Northern hemisphere, special orders of steel that is not available in South Africa. These include Grizzly bars, for coal crusher plants. That had dimensions of 225mm X 400mm x 11 meters, with a weight of 8 tons each. These are just one of the sizes, but we can source any size you may require.

We are also supplying the Development project for the new mine in the Congo with plumbing supplies, and such. We are actively involved in the import and exports of products to our clients all over the continent, and are proud of our logistics company that ensure all our imports and exports are dealt with in a professional and apt manner.

Quality is high on our list of priorities, and therefore we have implemented the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System. It is our mission to supply our clients with a product of quality that will give them value for money.

We have a very dedicated and well informed sales team with an excellent knowledge of our products, and they are eager and willing to assist you whenever they are awarded an opportunity to do so.

Please make contact with them for your next enquiry, and allow them the opportunity to provide you with a competitive quotation.

Our workshop is willing to take any challenge in the manufacturing of products, and in line with the ISO 9001:2008 quality system, they take pride in their products. With our Safety, Health and Environmental Policy in place, we do our best to ensure that production fall well within acceptable limits, as we are committed to a safer, healthier future for both ourselves and our children.

The management of Pure Stainless Steel Manufacturing is committed to the upliftment of our communities, and are proud of our Broader based Black Economic Empowerment certification of level Two. We are involved in Socio Economic Development with our support of the “Sport for All� project, whereby sports facilities and sport training is provided to previously disadvantaged communities where over 15 different sports codes are trained to the youths, as well as life skills training. We are also involved Enterprise Development, and there we support the CHOC, Childhood Cancer Foundation, in their efforts of helping children with terminal illnesses.

Our Sales Team are eager to hear from you, should it be for manufacturing or supplying. Please feel free to contact them. You may send an email to puress@purestainless.co.za, send us a fax on +27 11 814 6648, or contact us by telephone on +27 11 814-8214/5.

A Charter Broker The very concept was a mystery Written by Dave Howarth

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global railway engineering Company History XCMG Africa was launched in 2009 through a partnership with XCMG in China (ranked amongst the top 10 construction equipment companies in the world) and the Global Group of Companies from South Africa who have extensive experience in infrastructure development particularly in Africa and strong relationships with more than 15 Chinese companies which were developed over the last 20 years. Global and XCMG are working together to become a key pillar of support for the growth and development of Africa Southern Africa.

Local Footprint - Africa wide reach Key focus areas are to ensure that the XCMG products are continuously developed to meet and exceed the demands of challenging African Conditions and to ensure solid and reliable after sales support, parts and service.

Of course there was also the fallout and effects from the Marikana tragedy – a watershed for South Africa’s mining The Grootegeluk mine uses industry – and a three-week strike earlier a pantograph system enathis year at Exxaro’s coal operations. bling trucks to use electric power to assist in reducing “The commodity price was the diesel consumption and big challenge,” says Venter. “On the achieving maximum coal side, the average price of coal efficiencies decreased to $84 per ton, free-onboard at the Richards Bay coal export port. We export thermal coal as opposed to metallurgical coking coal for steel production and infrastructure and we think thermal coal prices will stay where they are for the next few months.”

Exxaro Resources is South Africa’s second-largest coal producer.

It has been, says Venter, focused on “diversifying” and “optimising the portfolio”, ensuring Exxaro’s “future, sustainability and achieving operational excellence”. When the company was formed six years ago through the merger of Kumba Resources and Eyesizwe, it committed to “creating a company that would make a sustainable difference,” he explains.

“We are conscious to look beyond current commodities. We have also been optimising our portfolio and cost management has been a priority: reducing exposure to base metals, merging our minerals sands interests with Tronox, expanding our presence in the ferrous market and completing a major expansion in the coal market.

“We’ve a strong balance sheet, excellent project pipeline and plenty of motivation.”

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XCMG is excited about being able to extend its reach into Africa to offer the machinery and equipment which will support and drive economic growth on the African continent. XCMG Africa forms the basis of this strategy into Africa.

Total Solution Provider XCMG Africa’s competency is based on its sound knowledge of the market and technologies surrounding the XCMG products, supported by ongoing research and development and extensive product application experience.

Tel 011 230 1900

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Global Railway Africa have been training lady operators at Exxaro Grootegeluk and we are proud to say that they have been performing very well in this environment.

Global Railway Africa / XCMG Africa is the proud supplier of XCMG Equipment in Southern Africa, and to Exxaro Grootegeluk.

We offer a wide range of equipment including : • Wheel loaders • Excavators • Cranes • Road building • Mining machinery

Tel: 011 230 1900 | www.globalgroups.org

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“Mr Waterberg” on the Grootegeluk expansion

A big focus for Exxaro is the ramp-up strategy for the Grootegeluk Medupi Expansion Project (GMEP) which lies in the Waterberg region of Limpopo, 400km north of Johannesburg.

The region has “massive coal deposits”.

“South Africa’s principal remaining coal reserves lay in the Waterberg region of Limpopo,” says Venter, dubbed “Mr Waterberg” by Mining MX. “Medupi, one of the biggest coalfired, air-cooled power stations in the world, is being built there because of the vast deposits. Our Grootegeluk open-cast coal mine feeds the Matimba power station and has been expanded to supply Medupi.”

The Waterberg coalfield’s importance in terms of Exxaro’s future cannot be understated, he says.

Over 50 percent of South Africa’s remaining reserves lie there.

“Waterberg is very important. Medupi will consume in excess of 14Mtpa of coal which gives us the latitude to, out of that complex, produce higher value coal products and even go downstream.

Element Six Element Six designs, develops and produces synthetic diamond supermaterials. Our solutions are used in applications such as cutting, grinding, drilling, shearing and polishing.

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Construction at GMEP is already 96 percent complete

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MINING & CONSTRUCTION

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ROVING SPECIALISED MAINTENANCE SERVICES RSMS improves overall asset effectiveness Our aim is to improve your plant and equipment reliability through proper daily and planned maintenance An integrated maintenance approach combining innovative technology with a highly skilled and professional team Recognising strengths and weakness in the systems and provision of appropriate solutions Our customers have achieved major savings in annual maintenance expenditure and improved productivity through increased plant and equipment availability Roving Maintenance Services Tel +27 17 687 1705

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GMEP is increasing Grootegeluk’s beneficiation complex to treat 12 000 tonnes per hour of run-of-min product in eight beneficiation plants

“We are looking at the economic viability of moving into highervalue market coke which is used as reductants in steelmaking and ferro-alloy businesses. We have already commissioned a 160,000 tonne per annum char facility, and are busy investigating expansion opportunities.”

Exxaro’s Grootegeluk mine is one of the most-efficient mining operations in the world and operates the world’s largest coal beneficiation

complex, where 9,000 tonnes per hour of run-of-mine coal is upgraded in six different plants.

“With the Medupi expansion we will treat 12,000tph ROM in eight beneficiation plants,” Venter says.

Exxaro is “going downstream in coal beneficiation, with opportunities such as reductants and energy being evaluated, due to shortage of energy supply in the region,” he explains.

“There is fundamentally a strong demand for reductants in South

Waterberg is very important. Medupi will consume in excess of 14Mtpa of coal which gives us the latitude to, out of that complex, produce higher value coal products and even go downstream”

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exx a r o

When complete, the R10,2 billion GMEP expansion will supply the Medupi power station (under construction) with 14,6Mtpa of coal

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Africa due to its ferroalloy businesses. In the recent past the demand has however slowed down due to Eskom buying back power from these players.

Eskom’s buyback programme ends in July. They will then be re-commissioning smelters and it will lead to us supplying more reductants.”

The 96 percentcomplete GMEP is set to cost a total of R10.2 billion for the ramp-up to 14.6-million tons of coal a year for Stateowned power utility Eskom’s Medupi power station by the second half of 2016.

“We have a coal supply agreement with Eskom where they have deferred taking coal from March to November this year.

Consequently, we have re-phased some of our expenditure on our expansion project. We will supply the Medupi generators with about 14,6Mtpa of power station-grade coal annually for the next 40 years. The expansion will create about 600 permanent jobs at Grootegeluk.”

There have been some delays.

“Medupi is behind in terms of construction and because of the delays with Medupi we had to delay some of the latter phases

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Middelburg Hino at your service Middelburg Hino forms part of the Barloworld Motor Retail Group and with a BBBEE status with level 3 rating and a professional team on board, they serve the growing mining industry amongst other industries.

The workshop facilities have been extended and modernised to enable their factory trained technicians to deliver a professional service to all Hino customers.

Gerhard Kotze as dealer principal and Pierre Beukes as service manager, brought proficiency and decades of experience to the dealership. Kobus Kitching is the parts specialist whilst Giovanni Zocolla is a dedicated sales consultant.

The team specializes on the domain of underground mining vehicles. The Hino 300-series, 614 long wheel base trucks are used for 18-seater, underground based personnel carriers and comply with the latest legislations and full certification by the SABS. The dealership can supply a whole range of vehicles and produce unlimited options for specially designed bodywork to suit different sectors in the economy.

Middelburg Hino’s dynamic team is faithful and loyal to their customers and trademark; we are at your service!

Tel 013 283 9300 Email Gerhard.Kotze@bwmr.co.za

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MANITOU group Strength in its engineering, versatility, design and a company dedicated to providing you with equipment that will be considered a vital asset in the productivity of your operations. That is what MANITOU has provided to its customers around the globe for over 40 years.

If you are seeking a handler that is on the forefront of handling capabilities then consider the range of MANITOU telescopic handlers, conventional and rough terrain masted forklifts, warehousing equipment, piggy back forklifts, access platforms, roofbolters / face drilling units, GEHL articulated loaders, GEHL Skid Steer loaders and Track Loaders.

Underground excavation machinery at the Arnot coal mine

of the development without demobilising costly contractors on site,” Venter says. “We did some optimisation and we decided not to spend money now on items such as the truck fleet and the second pit backfill system, and only get the benefits later. We re-phased our project without compromising our expected benefits while Eskom maintains its focus on completing the project.”

At the same time Exxaro is busy developing its Mayoko iron ore project in the RoC. The GMEP re-phasing has helped with respect to Exxaro’s Mayoko project resource requirement and support in the RoC (a project we will learn more about later).

“We have funds available to aggressively push Mayoko forward in the Congo. Capital allocation is a big success factor for us. We have been putting our bucks where there is value and that’ll be even more important in the future.

The world is still recovering at the moment and fortunately we are getting good signs from China from a coal perspective; even from a thermal coal perspective from India as well. So, on the coal front, we are happy we have a good pipeline of organic opportunities. We are also looking at in-organic opportunities. We will be looking further at our current portfolio to see how we can further optimise that by actually combining assets and acquiring assets that make sense in a domestic environment here in South Africa and also further afield.”

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MANITOU units were designed to give you the robustness, reliability and performance that you expect to have in your day to day operations.

Manitou will offer the solution to all your Rough Terrain Materials Handling problems. The telescopic units are multi-purpose with quick hitch attachments i.e.: forks, buckets, muck grabs, tyre handlers, personal cages, jibs/winches, etc. for the use in mining, industry, construction, forestry, farming, brick plants, sugar industry etc. The correct attachment for the job will ensure full utilisation of your machine in all sectors of your yard or plant.

Tel 080 626 4868 Email info.msa@manitou-group.com

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The Arnot coal mine supplies coal to the nearby Eskom power station

Proudly associated with and in operation at

Exxaro

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Ningi Services Ningi Services, situated in WITBANK SOUTH AFRICA, is the Developer and Manufacturer of Environmental Monitors and Electronic Motor Protection Relays.

P50

The Environmental Monitors are used underground in Potentially Explosive areas to monitor the levels of various gases such as Methane, Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide; Humidity, Ambient Temperature etc.

The information can be transferred via Wireless or Wired Communication to a control room.

M20

The M20 is a fully configurable Motor Protection Relay and can be configured via USB as required.

Ernst Venter is Exxaro’s Executive Head – Growth, Technology and Services.

Exxaro’s eight managed coal mines produce over 40Mtpa of power station, steam and coking coal, as well as char and related products for the local ferroalloys industry. The company is the largest supplier of power station coal to South Africa’s national power utility, Eskom.

A robust pipeline of greenfield and expansion projects mean this is an exciting time, says Venter.

“We believe coal will be around a long time. You will see we have just entered into a clean coal Joint Venture with Australian-listed Linc Energy. It will be a game changer not only for Exxaro but the whole coal industry and we believe we can be the leaders in sub-Saharan Africa with that. We are pushing forward with it and are excited by it.

“We are also moving ahead with our Waterberg expansion, the Grootegeluk expansion – because

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The configuration allows the engineer three inputs which can be configured as normally open or normally closed as well as four voltage free relay contacts which can be configured to operate from any input or Motor Protection function.

The M20 offers true RMS 3 phase Voltage measurement up to 2500v Vac Phase to Phase and true RMS current measurement up to 6500.0 Amps per phase. Sensitive true RMS Earth Leakage Protection measures from 30mA to 6 Amps.

The integrated Earth Fault Lock-out Protection makes the M20 relay a world leader in Motor Protection.

Tel +2713 656 3147 Email sales@ningi.com

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It will be a game changer not only for Exxaro but the whole coal industry and we believe we can be the leaders in subSaharan Africa with that”

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exx a r o

Exxaro’s effricient coal operations at Grootegeluk will be emulated at the planned Thabametsi mine nearby

of its importance in terms of supplying Medupi – and we are planning the Thabametsi mine which is adjacent to that.”

The Thabametsi mine is a greenfields development, an openpit coal mine and beneficiation complex supplying independent power producers.

With an estimated timeframe of 2015-2025, it will supply 17Mtpa to power stations and 2.8Mtpa to other markets.

“Thabametsi is phase two of our Waterberg expansion. We think it is the right thing to enter into and press ahead with developing the mine. We will soon announce our independent power producer partner for that project. We will start by producing 600 megawatts of power and push it into the grid and it is exciting because we know there is an energy issue in South Africa and there is a growing market for coal reductants, which is largely used in high energy-intensive industries like ferrochrome and steel making, so by facilitating more power generating capacity in South Africa we are benefitting both Exxaro and the country.

“In coal we will look at diversifying more from a geographical footprint, cross border, by pushing harder on the Moranbah South mine in Australia, a JV with Anglo Coal, and new geographical areas.

“Downstream opportunities for Waterberg include a char plant, coke and electricity generation.

“That, on the whole, is coal. It is a strong backbone and it will remain so.”

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Exxaro and Datacentrix – a true partnership Exxaro’s long-standing strategic partnership with Datacentrix has seen the mining company partner with the IT solutions provider for many projects - from the complete outsourcing of its operations integration management, enterprise services management and the services around its site, network, servers and storage, to information security upgrades and bandwidth optimisation.

Its status as one of the most highly skilled and certified business partners for a number of leading international and local vendors led to Datacentrix’ appointment to supply Exxaro with network equipment, storage, blade and server solutions. Datacentrix is also responsible for ongoing implementations and support.

Exxaro also partnered with the company on its WAN optimisation project, which it has supported for the past five years and has recently renewed for the next five. So far, the WAN optimisation technology has saved Exxaro millions of Rands thanks to better site connectivity.

Tronox’s South Africa operations include the KZN Sands operation situated at Empangeni in the KwaZuluNatal province

Mineral sands

Venter is equally excited about the Tronox business.

“In the past year we did a big deal where we merged assets with Tronox to create the current Tronox Limited, the world’s first and largest vertically integrated mineral sands processing and pigment company. We have high hopes for it in the medium to long term,” he explains.

Tronox has a strong platform for future growth, uniquely positioned to serve the needs of the global pigment and zircon market, he says.

Its operations include South Africa’s KZN Sands and Namakwa Sands and the previous Tiwest mineral sands operations in western Australia, with three pigment plants situated in the U.S., Europe and Australia.

The company employs approximately 3‚500 workers in 16 locations worldwide.

“In the first half of 2012 that business did very well,” Venter says. “It had a 24 percent increase in revenue. But the pigment prices came off in the second half which meant that our integrated business didn’t do as well as expected – it was

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From an outsourcing perspective, Exxaro wanted to fundamentally change the way in which services were delivered to its users. It achieved this by making Datacentrix accountable for all IT operational outcomes – right down to the management of external service providers.

In addition, one of the latest requirements from Exxaro was to implement and manage a virtual desktop solution, allowing IT users to experience a rich graphical content from any location with limited bandwidth. The project is aimed at increasing user productivity and access to systems on any technology, paving the way for flexible user requirements such as “bring your own device” (BYOD).

Datacentrix’ complete service offering has fulfilled all aspects of Exxaro’s requirements to “own” the internal IT operations, freeing up the company’s information management team to focus on strategic initiatives.

Tel 087 741 500

www.datacentrix.co.za

In the first half of 2012 that business did very well. It had a 24 percent increase in revenue”

Corporate Park North, 238 Roan Crescent, 1685, Old Pretoria Road, Midrand Tel: 087 741 5000 | Web: www.datacentrix.co.za

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HKLM HKLM – celebrating ten years of focused branding across Africa and the Middle East, offering solutions tailored to each individual client’s needs, providing expertise in every sphere of branding from environmental and digital design, stakeholder communication, brand engagement, advertising, public relations and events, to project management and procurement.

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Aerial view of the central processing plant at KZN Sands

a historically poor year for the pigment segment during the second half of 2012. We were disappointed with the results. We thought it could have been better but that’s the supply and demand situation with some destocking happening in the second half of the year, continuing into 2013.”

He anticipates the global market for pigment to strengthen in the second half of this year and feels that markets are beginning to reflect increasing demand.

This demand increase will predominantly happen in Asia.

“In the first half of this year we’ve seen some destocking. In the second half of we’ll see a pickup which should lead to a better performance from the Tronox business. That is a great business for the future: I’m talking the long and medium term not now in the short term.”

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Exxaro has a 44.6 percent equity share in Tronox.

“We haven’t made the call yet as to when to make a bid to control it,” Venter says. “We will weigh it up against other opportunities we have in our pipeline at the time to make that decision. Looking at the way the world is going, there are good fundamentals for that business.

The pigment production in Asia is picking up, specifically in China and you have to position yourself favourably towards the Asian market if you want a sustainable business. We are looking deeply at that, deciding on the right time. We need to balance and rigorously rank our projects and focus on those that deliver value.

“We’re focused on optimising what we have and making sure we are set and ready for action going forward.”

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Specialising in emerging markets, conceptualising and delivering businessfocused, media-neutral solutions Tel +27(11)4616600

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SP MINE SAFETY STRATA WORLDWIDE SP Mine Safety is a global leader in mine safety solutions that provide a safer & more productive working environment below ground and above ground.

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Our Product Range: Proximity Detection System HazardAvert® (Coal Mine) Proximity Detection System (Surface Mining) Strata Commtrac Strata Wi-Fi Rescue Chambers (Coal & Non Coal) 16 Victoria Link, Route 21 Corporate Park, Irene, Pretoria Tel 012 450 0960 Fax 012 450 0999 Email info@strata-safety.co.za

www.strataworldwide.com

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J.A. Engineering CC J.A. Engineering have been serving the Coal Mining Industry since 1983.

• Scoops • New & Repair Sub-Assemblies • Pempek Systems Serving the Coal Mining Industry Since 1983, KZN Vryheid Tel +27 011 397 3237

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The Leeuwpan mine, one of Exxaro’s eight coal mines, is a key supplier to the domestic and export markets

Mining iron ore in the Congo: Exxaro’s Mayoko opportunity Exxaro is also energised by its Mayoko iron-ore project in the Republic of Congo (RoC).

Venter says it will be developed in phases to produce and export ten million tons of iron ore a year by 2017.

He says Exxaro is prioritising its 2014 target of “two-million-ton-a-year in the initial phase”, while developing access to critical rail and port infrastructure.

“In terms of our portfolio we have secured an entry into the iron ore space – through the project we acquired in the RoC, the Mayoko iron ore project. It is a strategic fit and we are already busy with construction and developing it in a phased way. Phase one will see us prioritise our 2014 target of the two million ton a year in the initial phase, while developing access to critical rail and port infrastructure, and then going up to between 10 and 17Mtpa, and that is a subject of a feasibility study currently underway.

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“There are about 400-500 people onsite already and we are now busy finalising the mining Part of the site for the convention and setting up agreements with the Mayoko iron ore mine government of the Republic of the Congo. We in the RoC. Phase 1 will hope that all goes ahead no later than August see production of 2Mtpa by 2014 this year and we should then be in a position to produce the first iron ore before the end of this calendar year. It is positive for us. The RoC is a good place to do business in as well. It is of course a new territory for us but the support we get from government is just amazing. That project is going quite well.”

Exxaro acquired the project as part of its multimillion dollar takeover of African Iron in an effort to diversify from coal.

It plans to spend up to $320 million in the initial ramp up of the mine, this We are very positive being Phase 1. about the quality of Venter says Exxaro is investing in upgrading a railway line leading to products we can produce the deep-water port at Pointe Noire and are certain we will to transport two million tonnes of be able to place it in the cargo per year and will manage the line jointly with the government. market fairly easily” “We call Mayoko our Waterberg of iron ore. It has massive potential.

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DYNAMIC HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT We provide quality HR services to attract, develop, motivate and retain a diverse workforce within a supportive work environment. We do this with an emphasis on customer service based on consultation and communication.

Our human resource management systems encompass: • Payroll • Time and attendance • Performance appraisal • Benefits administration • Recruiting/Learning management • Performance record • Employee self-service • Absence management Tel +27 12 347 8270 Email jaco@dhcd.co.za

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We have done a lot of work on characterising that ore in the market and in which parts of the world it will be used. We are very positive about the quality of products we can produce and are certain we will be able to place it in the market fairly easily.

“Two million tonnes per annum is small but the positive is the quality, plus it is the first ore you mine,” Venter adds. “It needs a minimal amount of washing to produce the final product. You can export it easily. We can position ourselves well on the cost curve with Mayoko.

Phase two is ten million tonnes per annum, up to 17 million tonnes per annum. It will be even better for us.

“We will be producing by end of this year and we are excited.

Encouragingly the government in the Congo has announced they will develop the new port at Port Indienne. We need that export port for the bigger tonnages. It is good news for us. We have secured our

Bearing Man Group - BMG

We will be producing by end of this year and we are excited. Encouragingly the government in the Congo has announced they will develop the new port at Port Indienne. We need that export port for the bigger tonnages. It is good news for us”

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The company’s BEE Level 3 certification, with recognition as a ‘value add supplier’, enable customers to claim BEE procurement recognition of 137,5 % against all purchases from BMG. BMG provides a 24 hour service to Exxaro, with a special focus on bearings, power transmission and fasteners. Energy efficient systems include EFF1 electric motors and variable speed drives.

On site maintenance services ensure machine reliability, efficient maintenance procedures and optimum control in breakdown situations.

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Aerial view of Pointe Noire

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BMG supports its extensive range of quality branded components with engineering solutions and technical services that optimise productivity and enhance process plant operating reliability.

Exxaro is investing in upgrading an existing rail line leading from the Mayoko project to the port of Pointe Noire

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EM INSTANDHOUDING PANTOGRAPHS Minimize fuel costs in situations where the cost of diesel energy is too high Increases on-grade speed, which increases productivity and reduces haul cycle times.

Increases hauler productivity.

AC Haul Truck Drive system is capable of performance at the 5500 HP level in trolley mode whereas the largest available high-speed light-weight diesel can only provide about 3000HP. Tel 2776 431 5413 Email emidr@lantic.net In-pit excavation at the North Block Complex mine

position in that. We are involved with the government to develop a multiuser iron ore export hub. We will make sure we have sufficient interest in that.”

Exxaro has also been linked with a bid for Equatorial Resources, which has a project adjacent to Mayoko, but that’s unlikely says Venter.

“We will not, in the short term, look at any new iron ore acquisitions.

We are focused on optimising what we have at Mayoko and will focus on making it a success.

“We believe the fundamentals of iron ore are positive in the medium to long term and we are drawing on in house experience and expertise in mining bulk commodities to unlock this potential.”

On the alloy side of the business, he has confidence in Alloystream, a proprietary technology development in cooperation with Assmang to produce high-carbon

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VR steel present the VR Dipper

We believe the fundamentals of iron ore are positive in the medium to long term and we are drawing on in house experience and expertise in mining bulk commodities to unlock this potential”

The VR Dipper which has been hailed for its optimised shape has a rounded floor which eliminates the need for large heel/toe wear protection and assists in the material flow The features of the VR Dipper • Dual side latching system • The advanced design methods that have produced a lighter micro ball • Reliable EPOCH Snubber that repeatedly dampens the door and concurrently eliminates the stress impact The VR Dipper made from abrasive resistant liner material has been through a cladding process. This process uses chromium carbide alloy, fifteen times more wear resistant than mild, typical steel Tel +27 (11) 8647630 Email johnvreenen@icon.co.za

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ferromanganese. “We know, of course, that the local ferromanganese alloy industry is going through a difficult time, but believe that this new technology will assist to make ferro-manganese even more competitive and robust going forward.”

The development of innovative technologies like this has been a key part of Exxaro’s strategy of identifying growth opportunities and adding value.

“We are commercialising a new smelting process with a manganese partner using coal fines,” Venter explains. “It’s the first new manganese smelting

process innovation in the industry in nearly 80 years. It has taken many years of testing but the benefits are worth the wait. They include a 1-step smelting process, life of mine extensions and energy savings of up to half the costs of a traditional smelter, with co-generation.”

Exxaro has been working on a programme to make blue sky innovation part of the group’s DNA, he says.

“We’ve defined exactly what innovation means and we have a number of breakthrough innovations about to become commercial realities. We believe they’ll contribute significantly to the group’s future goals.”

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Drilling underway at the North Block Complex mine

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It’s the first new manganese smelting process innovation in the industry in nearly 80 years”

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BONEC LUBRICATION EQUIPMENT We focus on repair and installation of lube systems, supply of lube products and wearparts We aim to challenge the way it was always done Our manpower consists of qualified experienced crew and management Tel (014) 763 4448 Email bonec@telkomsa.net

Part of the haul truck fleet at Grootegeluk.

Diversifying outside the mining industry: Cennergi Exxaro’s diversification strategy has extended outside the mining industry to the field of cleaner energy and it recently completed a R7 billion funding programme for two wind farms in the country’s Eastern Cape province with Tata Power of India, the company’s 50:50 JV partner in Cennergi.

Cennergi has received finance from Standard Bank, Nedbank Capital and the International Finance Corporation for the wind projects.

Exxaro said it will fund the remaining R1.8 billion equity portion with Tata Power.

“In an attempt to meet rising power demand, the government (Eskom) plans to add 3,725 megawatts of capacity from renewable sources by 2016 through a programme of five tenders,” Venter says. “Cennergi’s two projects, which will produce 229MW, were awarded in the second round, where more than a third of the allocation went to wind power.”

The 95MW Tsitsikamma Community wind farm near Clarkson in the Eastern Cape is expected to achieve commercial operation from its 31 turbines in 2016.

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A Supplier of Specialized Lubricants, Grease and Management Program/Solutions Bonec Lubrication Equipment is a supplier of specialized greases, gear lubricants, hydraulic fluids, metal working fluids, automotive lubricants, environmental control products as well as lubrication systems for various applications in all industries. Additional products for environmental control and cleaning agents for industrial use are also available.

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The Amakhala Emoyeni wind farm, also located in the Eastern Cape, near Bedford, would produce 134MW from 56 turbines.

“As a coal producer, and intensive energy user, we play a significant role in the energy environment in South Africa. Cennergi, which was launched in April 2012, is a major achievement in our energy strategy, through which we want to contribute towards energy security and a cleaner environment in Southern Africa.”

As a coal producer, and intensive energy user, we play a significant role in the energy environment in South Africa.

Cennergi, which was launched in April 2012, is a major achievement in our energy strategy, through which we want to contribute towards energy security and a cleaner environment in Southern Africa”

Sustainable Mining

Of course sustainability has played a part in Exxaro’s past and present success.

That will continue.

“Mining can and should benefit economies,” says Venter. “If you look at the factors that have rocked investor confidence in both the mining industry and South Africa generally I think it is interesting. In my view, operational efficiency and long-term sustainability in mining companies is absolutely essential in terms of making the most out of the mineral deposits in the ground and the ability to contribute to the economy.

Also the export of South African minerals and downstream beneficiated products is valuable in that it brings much-needed foreign exchange reserves into the country.”

The South African mining industry has seen a substantial upheaval in the past year including the tragic events at Marikana to a draft amendment of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. “All of us were worried about Marikana,” Venter continues. “That should never have happened – let me make that point. It was a lack

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Legare Mining Services (Pty) Ltd Legare is a mining services company currently focused on rehabilitation and discard management Legare prides itself on delivering consistently on its values Legare is led by a competent team of technical personnel with proven experience in the mining industry

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The Cennergi joint venture has secured funding for its initial two wind farm projects

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SMEI Projects (Pty) Ltd SMEI Projects (Pty) Ltd is an established company, encompassing a wealth of experience within the structural, mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation fields.

SMEI is proud to be part of the Grootegeluk Medupi Expansion Project Phase 1 Priority 1; comprising of the civil works, supply and fabrication of structural, platework and piping along with all the mechanical, electrical and instrumentation installation.

Tel +27 11 914 4101 Email smei@smei.co.za

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Coal stockpiles at Grootegeluk

of communication and totally unacceptable. Yes, since then we have had our own strike, but it was quickly resolved and it comes down to the way you treat your people and taking them with you – not leaving them behind. You need to uplift them. In South Africa there are specific challenges but we must ensure that everyone benefits from the minerals we mine, not just shareholders. Amongst other things, we put lots into education and educating our people and invest a lot in the communities close to the mines, through employment. We want to empower local people and businesses and have them benefit from the local procurement and enterprise development. That is how we will be doing it in the Congo too. In Mayoko we have already employed locals during our construction phase. We will conduct artisan training which is what we are doing in Waterberg too, where we have a major training centre.

“At Exxaro we have the Exxaro Tomorrow Programme where we have painted a picture of how mining could look in 2050. In terms of sustainability, we won’t create mines, we will create resources hubs. Waste will be retreated and the communities around the mines will be sustainable. We see a mine as an organism.”

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Zero waste, zero effluent, wash-to-zero and sustainable engineering would be among the ideals targeted.

“You have probably also read about our 2020 aspirations. Just to put it in context, when we formulated – i.e., to become a $20 billion company by market capitalisation by 2020 – it sounded good but remember it is a vision and at that point our market cap was about $9.8 billion and now the share prices are right down. So we are not fixated on the absolute numbers. Rather, we are pushing forward with our portfolio to get to at least a number that is double the market cap we see now.”

We create a lot of jobs and bring in much-needed foreign exchange and you don’t want to comprise that. We want people from outside to view South Africa as a viable investment”

DELOITTE At the outset of 2012, Exxaro Resources implemented a new corporate and support service structure that makes use of significant shared services. The intent of this new structure was to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of corporate and support and to provide a scalable environment to support Exxaro’s growth strategy.

The new organisation structure was enabled by a new SAP system platform for which Deloitte was the primary implementation partner. The SAP programme entailed the replacement and standardisation of multiple legacy solutions with a single instance SAP ECC6.0 solution. The solution was deployed to over 4 000 end users at nine operations in South Africa. The Deloitte preconfigured solution for Mining was used as a reference model and source of best practices to accelerate the implementation.

“The professionalism and the way that the Deloitte management team supported Exxaro through a trying time puts them in a class of their own.”

Ian Brown, CIO, Exxaro Resources Tel +27 (0) 11 806-5000

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Resources tax?

Mining is a significant provider of jobs, makes a huge direct contribution to GDP - around eight percent - and South Africa’s wellbeing depends on the industry’s success.

But it is at a cross-road.

Although the Government has clearly stated that nationalisation is off the table, a number of regulatory uncertainties remain.

Taxation of mining companies is currently at the forefront of the debate as to whether the State derives sufficient economic benefit.

Tax is government’s participation in resource development and tax revenue is re-invested for the development of the greater society. It is how the rest of the country benefits.

The current message is loud and clear – government intends to increase its share of tax collection from mining companies.

The big question is how does government intend to do so?

A carbon tax and/or resources rent tax is one possibility.

“We are concerned about the level of tax (as a whole) being proposed and in particular we are

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Deloitte provides one of the broadest ranges of professional advisory services across the African continent to a wide range of industries including mining and manufacturing.

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engaging with government to find an equitable share of the benefits of mining. In the end I think common sense will prevail,” says Venter. “We create a lot of jobs and bring in much-needed foreign exchange and you don’t want to comprise that. We want people from outside to view South Africa as a viable investment.

“I refer back to the talk of nationalisation which in the end was a non-event. I think this will go the same way. There are healthy discussions going on – and to be had – between the Chamber or Mines, government and the Department of Mineral Resources in terms of the resource tax. The outcome will be such that we will still be a competitive mining industry in this country going forward.”

CAREWAYS (PTY) LTD Careways was launched in 1986, and was the first company in the South African business environment to develop and offer Employee Wellness Programmes and Executive Wellness Programmes for the benefit of its clients.

We offer work-place performance solutions which lead to practical and tangible employee benefit savings. Ours is a world-class business continuing its legacy of industry leadership, providing our numerous and varied client companies first class organisational wellness consulting and wellness programme solutions.

We customise our wellness offerings to suit individual client’s requirements. We assess an organisation’s environment, then engage with employees and management to understand their requirements, and finally set the scene for a change in mind-set. Using the insights and knowledge gained, we design bespoke programmes thus creating the foundation for wellness within the workplace.

By partnering with our client companies, we effectively steer organisations onto the path to wellness.

The outcome will be such that we will still be a competitive mining industry in this country going forward”

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Mission: Careways deliver innovative, integrated and comprehensive wellness solutions to work communities by optimising partnerships for enhanced wellbeing.

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A job well done?

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When precision is imperative Ideal for CAD and GIS, the imagePROGRAF iPF760 and iPF765 are 36”/A0 printers, delivering class leading productivity, exceptional quality, accuracy and an advanced set of features to ensure an excellent return on investment.”

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Exxaro’s future mine programme kicked off in 2012 and it has put in place a commodity strategy for 2020, 2030 and 2050 horizons.

A lot of work has gone into identifying innovative opportunities and development initiatives which Exxaro could pursue in the future.

“The focus has been about sustainability and, we believe, it will give us a competitive advantage in the future with regard to our environmental performance, technology use, and employee development opportunities,” says Venter, who is optimistic about a bright future. “There is so much potential,” he adds, “so much more value to be gained. If we focus and we really invest in the right areas there is no limit to what we can achieve.

We can help South Africa realise its potential and help the economy grow – and we can make a positive social contribution. Mining has a big role.

The quality of resources in the ground is strong enough. I think we need to be positive.

“Yes it is challenging,” he continues. “The regulatory environment is changing all the time and presents certain challenges for us. It can take time for approvals and that is a frustration. Slowly

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Project Management Office Maturity Synntech has successfully rolled out more than 10 Project Management Offices for various clients - for which we received an Award of Excellence. Our experiences taught us valuable lessons.

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but surely reality is dawning and people realise we need to put our act together in South Africa and make the country positioned for the future in the African continent.

“In a nutshell, if you look at it from an operational perspective, at Exxaro we have improved the quality of our assets and we still made a profit in 2012 despite the challenges, and paid a dividend to our shareholders. We will continue to pay a dividend. It is going satisfactorily, all things considered, and this year will be a bit better so we’ve made solid progress on our strategy.

“Besides continuing to strive for operation excellence, we will continue to invest in our people because people make it happen!”

Exxaro’s brand promise is “Powering Possibility”. Everything it does and delivers “today will allow others to realise their vision tomorrow”.

To learn more visit www.exxaro.com.

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Operations at the Leeuwpan open cast mine in Mpumalanga province

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A staggering percentage of projects fail to achieve their ROI and operational outcomes. This shortcoming places a burden on an organisation’s ability to realise their overall strategic objectives.

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D i a mond

T r a d i n g

C om p a n y

b otsw a n a

A cut

above the rest In 2011 De Beers and the Botswana government signed a ten-year agreement to move the London DTC to Botswana.

Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Debbie Clark

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otswana has experienced a serious resurgence of mining activity, with more discoveries seemingly

every month.

Speaking with me in 2012, Charles Siwawa, CEO of the Botswana Chamber of Mines, said the minerals sector of the country was flourishing and that “exploration for a wide variety of minerals is active and several new minerals projects were launched during last year.”

Botswana, he said, is a country “getting back to its feet” following the disastrous effects of the 2008 global economic meltdown.

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“The downturn in the global economy commencing 2008 has had serious repercussions on the mining sector in Botswana,” Siwawa explained. “The industry went into a lull with some companies closing down whilst others retrenched staff all in an effort to reduce costs and weather the storm. I think since 2010 however the economic landscape has been changing, picking up, to the extent that in July 2011 we had the highest world record sales of diamonds from Botswana. That has tailed off slightly in terms of production and we are not yet back to the pre-2008 crisis levels but we are certainly producing diamonds and the economy is picking up.”

m

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Diamonds are of course a girl’s best friend; they’re Botswana’s too. And in August last year, De Beers began rough stone sorting in the country, a first step in its transfer from London to Gaborone.

Rough stone sorting or aggregation operations had previously been based in London for nearly 80 years.

De Beers Chief Executive Officer Philippe Mellier said it was the first step in a process that should be complete by the end of 2013.

The move will transform Botswana into a leading international centre, with Botswana and De Beers signing a 10-year deal to move its rough stone sorting and trading division

I think since 2010 however the economic landscape has been changing, picking up, to the extent that in July 2011 we had the highest world record sales of diamonds from Botswana”

from London to Gaborone in September 2011.

Under the deal, Botswana will, for the first time, directly sell 10 percent of gem stones manufactured locally while De Beers will also increase the value of diamonds it makes available to manufacturing companies in the country to $800 million a year from the current $550 million.

Minerals Minister Ponatshego Kedikilwe said at the time it has long been the aim of the government to have diamonds from Botswana processed, sorted, marketed and sold in Botswana.

“The fact that the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) in Botswana will rough stone sort locally is a huge milestone,”

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T r a d i n g

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b otsw a n a

From the point of view of what it’ll do for the country, we believe it is going to inject a significant amount of money”

Diamonds will be sorted in Botswana from December

Images: © DTC Botswana

Siwawa told me. “From the point of view of what it’ll do for the country, we believe it is going to inject a significant amount of money into the economy, while we’ll get increased tax yields from the sale of diamonds in this country and also you’ll have a number of secondary industries growing from this move.”

He was excited. He said the whole country is.

“There is definitely optimism in Botswana. There is lots of exploration taking place for all kinds of minerals. We’ve coal reserves that are deemed to be the second largest in Africa, behind only to South Africa and we have another new copper/nickel mine that will be opening in the western part of the country that will have a minimum of a 30-year life.

There will be more exploration and we’re certainly expecting more mines to open.”

On its website, DTC Botswana says its purpose is to “make aggregated diamond mixes available for sale in Botswana for local manufacturing” adding, “This will support the Government’s economic vision to drive job creation and value creation from the country’s diamond resources.”

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Since 1981 we have provided a wide range of HR and management services to companies and organisations and have been proud to be associated with Diamond Trading Company Botswana and its predecessors for over 15 years.

Service lines include Balancing the Labour Capital Equation through • • • •

Organisational development Remuneration and Reward Performance Management Recruitment

With our link with Hay Group we provide access to Hay products and services including the global Hay© Job Evaluation System.

We pride ourselves on adopting a pro-active, innovative approach and are proud to offer a “Botswana solution combining local knowledge with international expertise.” tbc@tbc.co.bw Tel: +267 3972744 www.tsabadiri.co.bw

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D i a mond

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“As part of establishing DTC Botswana, a new building was constructed with a total capacity to process 45 million carats and to accommodate up to 600 employees,” the website continues.

“It incorporates state-of-the-art sorting equipment, designed and manufactured by the De Beers Group. The building project was delivered at the end of 2007 and was occupied in March 2008, at a cost in excess of P471 million, paid for by De Beers. The company is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art sorting machinery at a cost of P18 million.”

Speaking in March, DTC Botswana’s Managing Director Tabake Kobedi said the DTC relocation would transform the SADC region. “We pride ourselves in being the world’s largest sorting and valuing facility responsible for all Debswana’s production and we see ourselves as a centre of excellence for sorting and valuing diamonds,” Mr Kobedi said.

He added that DTC would sell a majority of this production to De Beers and the balance to a new government appointed sales outlet - Okavango Diamonds Company.

The relocation of DTC is expected to bring more Foreign Direct Investment and create additional employment in the local cutting and polishing industry. It would also result in a great inflow of diamond industry expertise,

We pride ourselves in being the world’s largest sorting and valuing facility responsible for all Debswana’s production and we see ourselves as a centre of excellence for sorting and valuing diamonds”

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The migration from London to Gaborone will see about $6 billion in diamonds being sold in Botswana

technology, personnel and leading business, especially when De Beers International Sales, Aggregation and related functions are transferred to Gaborone by December this year.

He said DTC Botswana sightholders have grown from 16 to 21 in the past year, creating 3,500 jobs and that an additional P200 million has been put aside to spend on extending the existing DTC buildings in Botswana.

“It is a ground-breaking business move that will change the history of Southern Africa, it will bring international sales, as well as aggregation and supply chain functions, to Botswana by the end of 2013,” explained Executive Vice President, De Beers Global Sightholder Sales, Varda Shine in 2012.

“This will result in an influx of skills and technology to the country. We hope to establish Botswana as the diamond hub of the 21st century.”

The migration from London to Gaborone will see about $6 billion in diamonds being sold in Botswana.

South Africa and Namibia will continue selling locally produced diamonds, while Canada’s output would be sold in Botswana.

To learn more visit www.dtcb.co.bw.

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Driving operational

Driv-

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Africa Outlook profiles South African phosphates firm Foskor, one of the world’s largest producers of phosphate and phosphoric acid.

Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Debbie Clark

hosphates firm Foskor needs little introduction. The South African phosphate mining and processing group, whose majority shareholder is the Industrial Development Corporation, famously gave its name to foskorite and it is the only vertically integrated phosphate producer in the country. The Midrand-headquartered company also participates in the beneficiation of phosphate rock into phosphoric acid and phosphatebased granular fertilisers, which are sold around the world. It was set up by the IDC in a bid to make South Africa independent from phosphate imports and operates from two main locations, the Mining Division in Phalaborwa in the Northern Province (Limpopo), and the Acid Division in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal.

Foskor is a proudly South African producer of phosphates and phosphoric acid with international exposure”

“Foskor is a proudly South African producer of phosphates and phosphoric acid with international exposure,” the company’s website says. “Foskor unlocks shareholder value through the profitable, responsible and sustainable beneficiation of phosphate rock into either phosphoric acid or phosphatebased granular fertilisers sold globally.

“Foskor is the only vertically integrated phosphate producer in South Africa,” it adds. “From

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f os k o r

Stefanutti Stocks Multidisciplinary Stefanutti Stocks is a leading South African construction group with the capacity to deliver a range of projects of any scale to a multitude of clients in diverse markets It has been successful in strategically positioning itself across many industries with its portfolio of both conventional and niche skills The group boasts a wealth of experience and expertise in the design and construction of mining infrastructure as well as the provision of professional services in the fields of open cast contract mining, bulk material handling and waste residue disposal and recovery facilities Stefanutti Stocks also offers mining clients geotechnical and piling, infrastructure earthworks, water treatment plants, road rehabilitation and surfacing, a broad spectrum of civil construction, mechanical & piping and electrical & instrumentation supply, installation and commissioning

phosphate-bearing ores, the operations in Phalaborwa mine and process phosphate rock concentrate, which is crucial for stimulating and raising crop yields. The Richards Bay plant manufactures sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid and phosphate-based granular fertilisers (MAP and DAP) by using phosphate rock as a raw material. About 84 percent of Phalaborwa’s phosphate rock concentrate is railed to Richards Bay and the rest is sold externally. The Acid Division exports phosphoric acid to India, Japan, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Mexico and Dubai.

Phosphoric acid has agricultural, industrial, medical and retail applications. Products made from phosphoric acid include catalysts, rust proofing materials, chemical reagents, latex, dental cements, tooth whiteners, toothpaste, disinfectants, food supplements, carbonated beverages, waxes, polishes and animal feeds, among others.”

Foskor’s two mines at Phalaborwa, the North and South Pyroxenite Pits, can produce 2.9 million tons of phosphate rock at full capacity.

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Stefanutti Stocks Contract Mining was awarded the Foskor North Pit Expansion project where it excavates, loads and hauls apatite-bearing ore to the Foskor crushers; and the associated overburden to waste rock dumps. Stefanutti Stocks Civils and Stefanutti Stocks Mechanical are undertaking the construction of the mine’s phosphate flotation plant

www.stefanuttistocks.com

From phosphate-bearing ores, the operations in Phalaborwa mine and process phosphate rock concentrate, which is crucial for stimulating and raising crop yields”

f os k o r

Quick facts Foskor was founded by the Industrial Development Corporation in 1951 to produce phosphates for South Africa’s agricultural sector.

The Group’s core activities focus on the mining and beneficiation of phosphate rock and the subsequent production of phosphoric acid and phosphatebased fertilisers.

Foskor is the only vertically integrated producer of phosphate rock, phosphoric acid and granular fertilizer in South Africa.

Foskor is the second South African company to be credited with a DEKRA Gold Certificate. DEKRA is an international safety and quality ratings agency in the fields of technology, the environment, training, monitoring and mobility.

Foskor is the leading supplier of granular fertilisers – diammonium phosphate (DAP) and monoammonium phosphate (MAP) – core ingredients in final fertiliser products comprising nitrogen, phosphates and potassium, also known as NPKs in South Africa.

Foskor is well-positioned to optimise the growth opportunities offered by a definitive shift of economic power to Asia and the Pacific region.

ensure stable sales volumes and protect cash flow during economic downturns.

The Group remains committed to implementing financial and managerial discipline while raising output and containing input costs.

Foskor strengthens its brand by implementing productivity enhancing growth strategies which address underlying structural problems and narrows the skills gap.

Foskor is implementing plans to grow its distribution networks through its market diversification strategy and to focus on product diversification through both Source: Foskor’s Integrated annual acquisitive and organic growth to balance the company’s portfolio, report, 31 March 2012

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Of the total rock output, approximately 80 percent is railed 800 kilometres to the beneficiation plant at Richards Bay. The Acid Division has capacity to produce 690,000 tons of phosphoric acid, 2.2 million tons of sulphuric acid and 350,000 tons of granular fertilisers.

The remainder of the phosphate rock is sold in the local and export markets, while the bulk of the phosphoric acid produced is exported.

According to Alfred Pitse, CEO and President, the firm is focused on driving “operational excellence”.

“To achieve operational excellence, cost management To achieve will be implemented alongside efficiency operational excellence, improvements while cost management will be optimising the existing implemented alongside capacities. The future growth of the company efficiency improvements” is dependent on getting the existing operations right,” he says in its 2012 financial report.

In November 2012, KZN’s Zululand Observer reported that the chemicals group planned to build a “huge new rock storage facility” and install three bulk chemical storage tanks as part of a R200 million expansion of its Richards Bay plant.

According to the report, the new facilities would “allow” Foskor to “broaden its phosphate product offerings in order to tap new markets”.

The expansion would see the building of a 12,000m² phosphate rock storage plant as well as a 700m³ bulk storage tank for defluorinated phosphoric and three smaller tanks for the storage of merchant grade phosphoric acid.

It would produce 1,100m³ per annum of lowerfluoride phosphates for use in animal feed, the report added, quoting SRK Consulting Senior Environmental Scientist, Wouter Jordaan, who is overseeing the permitting of the new facilities, including a new Atmospheric Emissions Licence (AEL).

The project is expected to create 134 permanent jobs and 75 temporary jobs during construction and is expected to generate revenue of R260 million for the company once operational, Jordaan said.

To learn more visit www.foskor.co.za.

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Gold p l a t

p lc

Profits, not gold Africa Outlook talks to Goldplat plc CEO Russell Lamming, the man refocusing the AIM-listed firm.

Writer Susan Miller Project manager Debbie Clark

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oldplat plc is focusing on profits, not gold as it consolidates its successful South African gold recovery operation, refocuses its Ghanaian gold recovery operation and prepares the way for new operations in Burkina Faso and growing East African powerhouse Tanzania.

While the AIM-listed firm had been involved in exploration and mining – including looking for small mines that would feed their recovery plants – the size of the projects, operational constraints and the current uncertain gold price environment simply did not add up when CEO Russell Lamming, appointed in September 2012, undertook a strategic review.

A geologist with a business background, Lamming first became involved in AIM junior resource companies at African Platinum Plc, which was successfully sold to Impala Platinum in 2007 once the Leeuwkop platinum project had been proven up.

His first CEO role was at Chromex Mining Plc where they took the Stellite chrome mine from exploration through to production. Chromex was sold at the end of 2010 to an integrated ferrochrome producer.

For him, in the current economic climate, it made sense to concentrate on Goldplat’s core gold recovery business – recovering gold from waste products of the gold mining process - which he feels had been seen as “the ugly duckling of the group”.

“Historically the profitable sections of Goldplat provided cash flow for the more ‘in vogue’ part of the business, which had been exploration and mining, a strategy that made sense in the mid2000s,” he says.

Consolidating and refocusing on the company’s identity as a service business to the mining industry has kept Lamming busy since his appointment. “Our message is that as a service business we provide a reliable, efficient service, we look to effectively increase the yield of our clients mines and make sure they are able to economically clean-up their operational waste,” he says.

So while its Kilimapesa Gold Mine in Kenya is currently on a care and maintenance programme (Lamming is in talks with the Kenyan Government to resolve that) and the company is doing prospectivity analysis on its two other exploration operations in Burkina Faso and Ghana, it’s consolidating its recovery business.

Whatever the results of the prospectivity analysis, Goldplat will look to ‘joint venture’ the

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Goldplat CEO Russell Lamming

We would like to be in a position where we can provide both an advisory and an extractive service to the client”

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And gold “one of the most mobile elements”, gets everywhere, onto and into the areas surrounding the operational equipment, which Goldplat plc will then clean for its clients.

“We would like is to be in a position where we can provide both an advisory and an extractive service to the client whereby we can show a transparent mass balance of where their “lost gold” is currently ending up and how they can maximise their recovery by Goldplat coming in and recovering that gold for them,” Lamming says.

A key advantage for clients is that Goldplat is not interested in producing ounces of gold but producing profits, so it’s happy to send whatever ounces it produces back to the operation, which often suits its client.

“Specifically at the moment when Fluidised Bed some operations are struggling to Incinerator make their call and every last ounce of at GRG, gold is important,” Lamming adds.

Ghana And as the company’s aligned to gold production it’s able to move into mines with another exploration countries where mining is taking off, company or do a trade sale but it like Burkina Faso. won’t be doing the exploration.

Five years ago the country had no “We need to be cash-flow generative, gold production and now it’s the fifth to fund our own growth and would largest gold producer in Africa with ideally like to be known as a dividend mature operations and some of the paying business,” says Lamming. bigger companies like IAMGOLD and He’s excited about building up Semafo operating there. the recovery side of the business, “We are now looking for long-term which is “fairly unique as a business offtake agreements from the mining model, certainly from a listed industry – it allows us to design and perspective” but adamant that he cost our plants more efficiently, and doesn’t want to spread the business to manage our capex profile more “too thin, too fast”. effectively,” says Lamming. “As a mining Goldplat’s business is to use services company we will follow where standard, off-the shelf technology in the growth is and where our clients go.” specific sequences and add processing He points to Tanzania, Africa’s third techniques from other extractive largest gold producer, as another industries to improve the traditional country that Goldplat is already looking gold recovery yields. at, as the company moves to set up an Because of the volumes of material East African operation. that need to be processed, it’s Moving mostly ‘ex-pat’ staff primarily interested in mature mining from its mature operations to the operations as start-ups need time to relevant countries, it trains up local build up sufficient waste material. employees onsite.

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Elution Plant and Kilimapesa Gold Mine

“As time goes by you decrease the numbers of expat employees and retain those skills in country,” Lamming says.

It’s key when moving into new countries to have effective dialogue and deliver a service.

Lamming believes Goldplat is a “value-add for any country” as it recovers a lot of gold that would otherwise be lost.

Indeed he sees Goldplat as “a bit of a green gold type company” as it also helps to reduce the environmental impact of small scale mining by providing an environmentally friendly recovery process where the alternative is to use toxic elements including mercury and intense cyanidation with their adverse effects on the environment.

Importantly, the company has built strong relationships with governments, particularly in Ghana, which has supported Goldplat strongly, and where it is aiming to consolidate and expand its traditional recovery operation. The company, which started “in its current form” in the early 2000s, used the funds from its 2006 listing to develop its Ghanaian operation in the free port of Tema.

Strong in South Africa, Goldplat’s got a good reputation and enough flexibility to offer different recovery options with its processing circuits. It’s consolidated there too - increasing capacity with a new CIL plant to process its own tailings and buying another rotary kiln, effectively doubling its production capacity of wood chips.

And having two rotary kilns will also allow it to treat electrical waste for the first time – one to process the material and the other to deal with the by-product of noxious gases.

Lamming is optimistic. “The key thing is to have sustainable growth going forward while at the same time reducing our exposure to the volatility in the gold price,” he says.

Best case scenario? A growing number of recovery operations in Africa that are underpinned by longterm offtake agreements with the major gold mining companies. To learn more visit www.goldplat.com.

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A i r tel

G H A N A

Upwardly mobile

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With Ghana’s oil find, its telecoms and ICT industry has been somewhat overshadowed in recent years.

But it is a sector full of opportunities for both local and International firms says Airtel’s Philip Sowah.

Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Donovan Smith

lthough mature, Ghana’s telecoms and ICT industry is “full of opportunities” says Airtel Ghana’s Managing Director Philip Sowah.

According to Mr Sowah, the sector is “buoyant”, with network operators increasingly looking at innovation to stay competitive.

“Although mobile penetration crossed the 100 percent mark in the end of 2012, the market continues to show considerable potential,” he explains, adding that growth is “being driven” by increased data usage. “I think there is still a lot of room to grow. Take me for example as a consumer: I use four sim cards, all of them Airtel; for different things. I have my phone, router, ipad, and modem. All have an Airtel sim card. So I use four sim cards without double-simming or using another network provider. As sim cards get embedded into more and more devices, I think our market is set to grow more.

“Also, we’ve been boosted by improved submarine cable connections, which have helped lower prices and increased availability of affordable 3G-enabled devices.”

Mr Sowah is ambitious, tenacious and driven. Prior to joining Airtel Ghana, he was the CEO of Onetouch, now Vodafone Ghana, where he championed its aggressive expansion from 160,000 to 1.3 million subscribers.

“I’m encouraged and excited by what we are doing at Airtel,” Sowah explains. “Airtel is going very well.

We are consistently growing market share. We focus more on revenue market share than customer market share. Our data business has been growing quite significantly.

“What’s that down to? Well, it is a mixture of things. It is the service

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and the network quality, and we have positioned ourselves well in the data market. We have also put in systems to make sure we can deliver a good service and with the submarine cables that are landing on our shores it has given us access to international internet bandwidth and we have passed the savings onto our customers and the usage has gone up. ” Airtel is the brand name for what were the 16 Zain operations across Africa which Airtel International acquired in June 2010.

Airtel International is part of Bharti Airtel Ltd, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers mobile voice & data services, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecom solutions for enterprises and national & international long distance services to carriers.

The brand came with a promise to meet the emerging needs of customers with innovative, affordable and relevant solutions to empower consumers, giving them the freedom to do what they choose, providing them with the tools to meet life’s daily challenges.

Has it delivered?

“I think we are doing that – we are driven by the vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services to all, evidenced by the tariffs and incentives offered to customers,” Sowah explains, adding that the firm recently won two awards for its Customer Care and Mobile Broadband Services.

The awards – Best Customer Care and Best Mobile Broadband Service of the Year – were handed to Airtel at the third Ghana Telecoms Awards 2013.

The first award was in recognition of Airtel’s dedication to a customer-

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I think there is still a lot of room to grow. Take me for example as a consumer: I use four sim cards, all of them Airtel; for different things. I have my phone, router, ipad, and modem. All have an Airtel sim card. So I use four sim cards without double-simming or using another network provider.

As sim cards get embedded into more and more devices, I think our market is set to grow more”

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President John Evans Atta Mills shaking hands with Manoj Kohli

A i r tel

g h a n a

Checkpoint Checkpoint Ghana Limited was established in 1995. It has grown to become the foremost security and confidential printing house in Ghana.

Major areas of operations: Financial instruments especially cheque books for almost all the banks in Ghana Top-up scratch cards for Airtel and other five mobile companies.

Particularly in the area of top-up scratch cards, we believe our cards will rank among the best in the world.

centrist approach in growing its customer base, Sowah says.

The second award is for its leadership in the mobile broadband sector having upgraded from 3.5G to 3.75G High Speed Pocket Access (HSPA+) network.

“It means we have the most advanced network in the country,” Sowah says. “We are very happy to have won both awards and are focused on remaining very competitive in the area of customer care and providing products and services that address the different needs of our various customers and make their experience on the network even better. These awards are testaments that the strategies we have put in place are paying off.

“We will continue to invest in the network and, listen to our customers whose feedback spurs us on to do better.”

Sowah says Airtel Ghana wants to be the country’s “most loved brand”.

“What makes us different?” he asks. “A few things: For one, all our promotions and tariffs are clear and transparent. With us, what you see is what you get. We don’t have hidden terms and conditions. When customers make a call they get a call notification which tells them how long the call is and how much it cost and how much is left on the tariff – this way the customer is always aware of their usage. It helps them budget and our customers like that type of service.

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Through innovation, Checkpoint has virtually solved the problem of overscratching of pin numbers by users.

This had been a major headache for the consumer service department of all the mobile companies.

Other strong points include: The capacity to produce 8 million cards a day Very creative design department with the latest Heidelberg computer-toplate machine.

Philips Sowah

Tel +223 0302 689 880 Fax +223 0302 689 876 Email checkpointonline@k5online.com

A i r tel

g h a n a

We don’t want to be the largest; we want to be the most loved brand in Africa and the most loved brand in the daily lives of Ghanaians”

“Secondly, our call centre is always on hand to assist our customers.

“Thirdly, we continually invest in improving our service, networks and customer service. We never stop looking for ways to improve. We also have extremely fast broadband speeds and competitive tariffs, whilst focusing on providing the best service around.”

Airtel recently launched Airtel Premier, a service aimed at creating exclusivity and providing higher levels of services for loyal customers.

“It is something that comes back to offering relevant service,” Sowah explains.

He believes loyal customers should get the attention they deserve.

“We realised that our customers want to be recognised. They want special privileges and we want to offer that.

“We don’t want to be the largest; we want to be the most loved brand in Africa and the most loved brand in the daily lives of Ghanaians. This feeds into that.”

Airtel is using world class equipment in the telecoms industry and working with blue chip

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partners like Ericson, IBM, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks, and Tech Mahindra to ensure highest levels of service and latest generation technology.

“We have made huge strides in all we do and we continue to improve. We’ve a lot of exciting things in the pipeline and we are excited by the future. In terms of data, the July quarter is what we call our internet quarter. The whole three months is going to be focused on the internet and service around the net – with increased bandwidth, increased promotions, education there’s lots of activity around giving a great internet experience.”

Ghana is an “extremely important” market for Airtel and Sowah says “many multinationals realise that to be a truly pan-African player you have to have a presence” in the country.

The future is bright.

“Although Ghana’s telecoms industry is mature, as a market there is some market share to be gained and revenue to be had. If you just look at telecoms markets across Africa, Ghana is one of the larger ones” Sowah says. “Since we became Airtel, we have increased the Capex spending in the country. Airtel is here to stay. It is here to be one

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of the major players in the telecoms industry in Ghana.”

And Ghanaians have embraced the brand. “What we have done in terms of marketing and education has paid off and the Airtel brand is fairly well recognised in the market.”

Airtel Ghana is famous for its mobile money service.

Airtel Money allows customers to use their mobile phones like a mobile wallet to transfer and receive money, pay for bills, goods and services promptly.

“It’s convenient,” says Sowah.

“Typically there is a lot of money transfer from overseas to the country. Right now when that happens you have to go into a bank and there are so many bank branches you can go to. If you are out in a more remote area it is difficult to have access to your money. But with mobile money you can, wherever you

are, get access to your money, do a transfer etc on your own terms. It is very convenient.

“Ghana is a cash economy and people used to travel with lots of money across the country to trade.

Now you can put it in an electronic wallet and cash it when you get to your destination. There are security benefits there.

“Mobile money still has a lot of growth yet to happen. It is happening, but it is not on the same level as East Africa yet.”

Airtel’s destiny is in its “own hands”.

“We see our market share increasing, quarter on quarter, and we expect that to continue to happen,” Sowah explains. “We have our destiny in our own hands in that I think Airtel is a very efficient telecom operator and we are poised to be the most efficient operator in the country. And with the technology and services we

Courtesy of Aaron Eisenhauer/The Southeastern Missourian – March 18, 2008.

T E C H N O L O G Y

are employing there isn’t any reason why we shouldn’t be number one.

“Airtel as a brand has some very core values. One is empowering our staff, being flexible, making sure that we do what we say we’ll do, being open and humble. The culture of the company in Ghana is open and there is little hierarchy. We are also very detail orientated. We track information. We track systems down to very high level of detail. We understand our cost structure extremely well, our revenue structure extremely well.

“I see a bright future and I am extremely excited. The changes that are happening in Ghana’s telecoms industry will have a big role in the country’s future, with all the businesses springing up in Ghana.

There is still a lot of growth to be had.

We intend to be a major contributor to that growth.”

To learn more www.africa.airtel.com.

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of CO2 emissions, by utilising a complimentary suite of products to provide our customer with true endto-end solutions.”

The internet boom is one of the key drivers in Africa’s mobile boom - more people are getting online as smartphone prices fall and operators improve their networks, building new base stations to improve coverage and add capacity to the networks.

“Our core markets are in Africa and the Middle East,” Bubenicek adds, before explaining that mobile operators “rely on” companies like CPS to improve revenues and reduce costs.

“Mobile networks must reduce their operating expenses due to increased competition, market saturation and lowering average revenues per user,” Clean Power Systems provides cost effective, clean power he says. products that reduce operating expenses for mobile networks.

However – and despite the obvious advantages – mobile networks are yet Writer Ian Armitage to “fully embrace” the technologies.

Project manager Ben Weaver “Although the technology exists and has been proven, mobile networks have not yet fully adopted these technologies and therefore frica is one of the networks by over 60 percent,” says fastest growing William Bubenicek, Managing Director not yet realised the full benefits of large-scale implementation of clean markets for mobile of Clean Power Systems. power systems. providers. According CPS provides “end-to-end power “The benefits that our customers to research by the solutions” and there is “vast potential” receive go beyond the technology.

UK’s Informa Telecoms & Media, the for the business in a continent that continent has now, in fact, achieved “carries high operating expenses” and Rather, CPS provides a process that allows for custom system design status as the world’s second-largest often has serious power problems. for the entire network, as well as an mobile market. There are more than “Because mobile networks implementation and training process 760 million mobile subscribers and must maintain 99 percent reliable that allows the customer to benefit with market penetration around 68 power for cell towers, the emerging from large OPEX savings across their percent, there is still plenty of room market networks rely primarily on full network.” for growth. diesel generators to power their CPS’s Intelligent AVR system cleans In just four years, Informa believes cell towers,” Bubenicek explains. up poor grid conditions to keep the Africa could have as many as 1.19 “We utilise our software products site powered by AC Mains rather than billion mobile subscribers. to effectively capture data, system U.S.- headquartered Clean Power design, and implementation planning. running on diesel generators.

By minimising generator runtime, Systems (CPS) -- a firm with a fastOur focus is on standardising the growing presence in Africa -- is currently methodology to allow for high volume the system saves costs associated with diesel fuel and generator maintenance. providing clean and reliable energy implementation and allowing costTypical runtime reductions exceed services and products to the industry. saving benefits to be achieved rapidly.

70 percent and these systems pay for “Clean Power Systems provides cost The bottom line is that CPS provides themselves in less than eight months, effective, clean power products that its customers with 60 percent or Bubenicek says. reduce operating expenses for mobile more in OPEX savings, and reduction

Smart clean power

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technolo g y

“Our Hybrid System reduces generator runtime on off-grid sites,” he adds. “We cycle the site load between a battery bank and generator. Typical runtime savings exceed 60 percent and pay for themselves in less than 12 months.

“Our Remote Performance Monitoring System (RPMS) is a standard part of any hardware system we provide. The RPMS provides our customers with real-time viewing of site conditions, performance of the system, savings, reports, graphs and alarms for any issues on site.

“Our PassiveAuditTM software tool provides our customers with a process for data capture and allows our customers to perform system designs internally, with ROI and financial analysis based on performance predictions.

This allows them to make more informed decisions on what systems are appropriate to achieve maximum cost-benefit on their investments. This software also provides site scoping and

an implementation plan to allow for rapid deployment.”

CPS continues to grow its presence in Africa. In the last 12 months, it has implemented over 200 systems across the continent and continues to expand.

“We have had marked success in developing and training local subcontractors who can provide the customers with rapid implementation of the systems to give maximum savings in the shortest period of time,” Bubenicek says. “Our highest demand has been in our Intelligent AVR products (Stability Series) as the grid is so unreliable in most markets. Customers have achieved savings of over 90 percent in many cases and the RPMS provide our customers with a single platform to view site performance whether on our Hybrid system or our Intelligent AVR system.”

He is excited by the future.

“The industry is now ready for largescale implementation of clean power products. The technology has been

proven and as CPS continues to develop tools and systems aimed at large-scale implementation, we are seeing larger requests and orders for systems across networks. The opportunity is significant and we are at a tipping point.”

CPS is focused on “perfecting its model and tools” in the African markets, investing in software, and seeing new opportunities and demand for its products.

“We are dedicated to standardising the industry on the methodologies that we have utilised and proven on the ground. Our expansion plans include Latin America in the next 12-18 months as well,” Bubenicek concludes. “As the CPS team is all from the telecoms space, we are well positioned to serve this industry.

Additionally, our products and services have been designed specifically for the telecoms space and our customers appreciate this customised approach to the industry.”

To learn more visit www.clean-power-systems.com.

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Ta k in g the

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East Africa is overflowing with potential. From agriculture to mining and tourism to energy, investment opportunities abound. Africa Outlook talks to Alec Davis, CEO of Kenya’s Davis & Shirtliff, a firm that has been rapidly expanding its horizons across the region.

Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Donovan Smith

espite the fact U.S. President Barrack Obama snubbed Kenya on his recent Africa visit there is no denying that East Africa – with Kenya as its hub – is a region overflowing with potential.

From agriculture to mining to tourism to energy, investment opportunities abound and Kenyan businesses are increasingly benefiting from increased demand for their products and are expanding their horizons across the region.

One such firm is Davis & Shirtliff (D&S), a leading supplier of water and energy related equipment.

D&S is a name familiar to many and it has been rapidly expanding its business in the wider East African region off the back of increasing demand for access to water and electricity.

“More and more of our business has been coming from outside Nairobi, which was our only branch just 20 years ago, and we continue to see a need to penetrate the East and Central African region,” says CEO of D&S Alec Davis, who believes the lifting of trade barriers has “aided our regional expansion and made it easier to export products across the neighbouring national borders”.

Davis has a strong passion not just for the future of his company, but Africa.

“There is a huge amount of potential,” he says. “Kenya had elections earlier on this year and the economy had been flat leading up to it. But now we have had successful elections and the new government is settling in, the growth profile is resuming. Most of our product segments are related to development and infrastructure and so certainly there are huge opportunities in the region. Although Kenya has been a bit flat this year, we have subsidiaries in Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia and in Tanzania all of which are doing

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SPECIALISED POWER SYSTEMS LIMITED. World Class Power Solutions.

Established in 1990, We are the leading manufacturer, supplier, wholesaler and service provider of a wide range of Low Voltage Switchboards, Motor Control Centres, Power Correction Units, Feeder Pillars, Sub Boards, Distribution Boards, Consumer Units, Automation Control Panels, High Voltage Equipment, UPS/Inverters/Stabilizers, Cable Support Systems, Lighting Fixtures, Solar Power And much more!

Our capabilities include PLC programming, HMI/ SCADA programming, communication solutions, and integration with 3rd party software and databases.

These services can be provided using our expert automation engineers, nominated system integrators, or the client’s own engineers and technicians.

Our affiliates include: Lovato Electric, Elsteel Denmark, Chint Electric Co., Enerlux SRL, Terasaki Europe, Numeric, IREM, Solcom, INVT, PCE Austria, Perry SRL, Legrand, KSS etc.

extremely well. We also have a branch in Sudan and a new market we are exploring with enormous potential is We distribute high Somalia. Also one of quality equipment from the fastest growing a number of leading segments is the distribution of solar manufacturers from equipment. The ever Europe, Japan, China and decreasing cost of solar Australia to name a few” photovoltaic modules and recent technology advances have really opened that up. Of course us being on the equator, there is no better way to power things than through solar power. There are huge opportunities there as well.”

D&S is an ambitious, innovation-led business, focused on several distinctive business sectors.

It is involved in the importation, distribution, servicing and installation of surface and borehole water pumps as well as the supply of water treatment, swimming pool, solar and power products.

The company also has a fabrication workshop where it manufactures and assembles water treatment and swimming pool equipment.

And it has its own Distribution and Supply Centre.

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Specialised Power Solutions Ltd, has gained certification to the international standard ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001: 2004, BS OHSAS 18001 for the calibre of its processes in electrical and electronic engineering and project management and design automation.

www.spsafrica.com SPECIALISED POWER SYSTEMS LIMITED. Melili Rd, (Next to Marshall Showroom), Off Mombasa Rd. P.O Box 18435 Nairobi 00500 Kenya.

Tel: + 254 (0) 20 2077219, + 254 (0) 20 8019435/6/7.

Fax: + 254 20 3532986.

Cell: +254 724 255298.

Email: info@spsafrica.com

D a v i s

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S h i r tl i f f

What sets us apart? There are three important factors: our philosophy and core values, extensive product portfolio and ever expanding regional footprint. Where do I see the business in five years? We will certainly be much bigger than we are now. We will be in some other markets”

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“In late 2010 we purchased an adjacent 3000m2 property, which was formerly the Beta Pharmaceuticals manufacturing site. It was an ideal fit to create a new Distribution and Supply Centre. That gives us huge competitive advantage. We import in bulk into Nairobi by container from all our various suppliers and then we stock and store it. We distribute to the smaller branches the products they need. There is a huge portfolio of products to choose from, with low stocking and distribution costs. When they want something they order it on the system and get it the next day.

“This is an important initiative for the whole group, on which we’ve spent about $2 million, and will no doubt provide the capacity for considerable future growth.”

With subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Rwanda, Ethiopia and a presence in Southern Sudan, D&S has an extensive network that is the envy of many suppliers.

“We distribute high quality equipment from a number of leading manufacturers from Europe, Japan, China and Australia to name a few. Principal suppliers are Grundfos and Pedrollo and the company also offers a wide own brand range under the Dayliff label,” Davis says. “We offer our customers a comprehensive and competitive product range with regional availability and technical and service support.

“I call our strategy ‘the footprint’ strategy,” he adds. “We expand our footprint and ‘the footprint’ I define on one axis as the number of branches we have and on the other axis as the number of products and business segments we are in. Although we have stayed within our core business segments, we have greatly expanded the range of products within them. We are opening branches at a fast rate.

We now have 28 branches and we are opening three more in the next two or three months. Our strategy is to reach as

m a nu f a ctu r i n g

many customers as possible through the branch network and then feed through that branch network as wide a product offering as possible.”

Davis joined the family business in the late 70s, taking full control after his father passed away in the early 80s. He is the driving force behind the company, which is continuously evolving and adapting to the changing requirements in the market.

He is excited by the future.

“The middle class is growing rapidly in all African countries and so we have this rise in consumerism. With this has come this drive on value and prices.

Consumer spending is driving demand and it is also driving competition.

“The real opportunity – or change, if you like – arose 20 years ago now when Kenya liberalised and the foreign exchange controls were removed.

It completely changed the business

climate. We saw the opportunity that Nairobi could be the regional business hub and took advantage of it way before most people realised the advantages that Nairobi has.”

With a large amount of business in the sectors D&S presently dominates, and an abundance of opportunity on the horizon, the company looks set to further increase its already extensive product range, cementing its market leading position for many years to come.

“What sets us apart? There are three important factors: our philosophy and core values, extensive product portfolio and ever expanding regional footprint,” says Davis. “Where do I see the business in five years? We will certainly be much bigger than we are now. We will be in some other markets. We won’t be – certainly from my perspective now – in any other business segments. We

have enough business segments.

But there is so much potential in each of those segments that I can foresee they will be much more independent enterprises, with almost a conglomerate-type strategy where all business units are focused and resourced and independent.

“Is that important in our development?

I think so. Really for me the strategy is to have centralised support functions including supply, finance and IT which have high levels of expertise and these are shared with the operational business units which have complete independence. They compete with each other and build their own dedicated resource base to support the product.

“Certainly there is huge potential and there is going to be massive growth in this region in the next 10 years.”

To learn more visit www.dayliff.com.

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L a b o r a to r i es

Invest for

success A programme of continuous improvement and investment is paying off at Hersol Manufacturing Laboratories, one of South Africa’s leading pharmaceutical contract manufacturing companies.

Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Eddie Clinton

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ersol Manufacturing Laboratories is a fully licensed and registered pharmaceutical manufacturing company founded in 1980. The firm was established by Laurence Solomons and Sam Hertzkowitz and, thanks to a programme of continuous improvement and investment, is today one of South Africa’s leading pharmaceutical contract manufacturing companies, specialising in the development and manufacture of complementary medicines, nutritional supplements and pharmaceuticals.

2012 was a good year for the Jeppestown, Johannesburg-based company, whose 70 year old manufacturing facility complies with

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Wet-chemistry area within the QC laboratory

the Medicine Control Council (MCC) Code of Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) – making it standout in a highly competitive field.

Hersol has a full pharmaceutical manufacturing license, re-assessed regularly by the South African Medicine Control Council.

“In our sector of the pharmaceutical industry – complementary and alternative medicinal products (CAMS) – business has been excellent for 18 months,” says Managing Director André Buhrlen.

Indeed it has. Volume rose by 38 percent last year and has remained “solid” so far this year.

Cash flow has improved dramatically too, allowing Hersol to bring forward upgrade plans and acquire additional equipment needed to cope with the volume increases.

However, despite the excellent performance, a significant challenge continues to loom over the company.

That challenge is pharmaceutical regulations for CAMS products.

“It is an unknown factor,” Buhrlen explains. “This means there are different standards of manufacturing and this creates uneven playing fields.”

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In our sector of the pharmaceutical industry – complementary and alternative medicinal products (CAMS) – business has been excellent for 18 months”

Hersol is “far more advanced” in terms of MCC requirements for cGMP (according to PIC/S standards, says Buhrlen) than any of its competitors and it invests continually in “raising” its game.

“South Africa represents a multi-million rand market for complementary and alternative medicines – but regulations for CAMS have not been promulgated as yet,” Buhrlen explains. “There are no formal laws for the control and compliance of CAMS products, although expected regulations have been due for more than 20 years.”

This restricts Hersol in terms of potential customers and represents a significant operational challenge.

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“We took a decision a few years ago to upgrade the plant to MCC standards. We provide a full one-stop shop, from concept via R&D and eventually product launch to market.

We guarantee our product quality, the integrity with which we manufacture every product and are a very ethical company. Personally, I do not tolerate slackness, and taking chances or cutting corners, and I believe this work ethos has spilled over into industry resulting in us receiving many enquiries from customers lately to manufacture their products?!”

Of course the type of work Hersol does and its adherence to incredibly high standards can be expensive.

So it has made cost cutting one of several priorities.

“We have embarked on a major cost cutting. Actually, it is more of a continuous improvement strategy from the costing point of view,” Buhrlen says. “We made significant savings on material purchases and signed SLA with our major raw material and packing material suppliers. This has reduced costs by more than 18 percent.”

Hersol made more accurate reporting a priority, helping improve profit margins. The savings have enabled it to purchase new equipment and it recently acquired a new tubefilling line, which “could serve us well in the future”, Buhrlen says.

“We also acquired various additional blending, granulating and a new high speed compression machine, so that higher volumes can be manufactured,” he adds.

Hersol has almost completed an 1800m2 expansion of its manufacturing plant and it is set for a bright future.

The expansion is due for completion at the end of August.

“We will have to commission and validate all new equipment and be ready for additional volume work from

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We provide a full one-stop shop, from concept via R&D and eventually product launch to market”

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New tube-filling unit in position in the liquids department packing area

October onwards,” Buhrlen says.

It is through investments like these that the firm is able to compete with some of the world’s biggest drugs companies.

But there are drawbacks.

“We do not have full HVAC due to electricity,” Buhrlen says. “However all the AHU – air-handling units – have been installed including the ducting/ diffusors/extraction etc.”

To solve the problem, Hersol is investing in its own gas turbine power generation plant.

“That is a big investment and it will make us almost independent of City Power and Eskom. It is capital intensive, but with the erratic power supply to our plant, we saw little choice.”

Hersol will “synchronise” the power generation to its three main buildings.

“One of the aims is to get the additional power to start running our AHU in the various production areas one by one, until fully compliant with cGMP and MCC regulatory requirements,” Buhrlen says.

If he met a genie, what would his three wishes be?

“I would wish for the capital to complete the full HVAC and upgrades to the facility and then to replace smaller current equipment with new/ additional high volume equipment throughout the factory.

“Due to business growth the past three years in particular many of our equipment were sized for the volumes we did then. Currently these equipment sizes hamper as to getting additional volumes through.”

Buhrlen obviously wants full cGMP accreditation from the MCC. It will help the firm take “the next step”, he says.

“This is the key to attracting every possible customer in South Africa. Understand that we focus on CAMS, but get many enquiries from orthodox medicine companies that require cGMP accreditation.

“We are only a contract manufacturer; we do not own any brands. We literally manufacture only... distribution and sales and the like is outside our scope.”

To learn more visit www.hersol.co.za.

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med i c a l

Prognosis for growth

Turning 25 years old is always a special occasion, but Matthew Stephens, CEO of Johannesburg-based Medhold Medical, is even more excited about what the next ten years will hold.

Writer Susan Miller Project manager Eddie Clinton

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he a lthc a r e

ohannesburg-based Medhold Medical is a leader in the Healthcare Device Industry. Part of the Medhold Group, it has been in business for 25 years and is expanding into SADC countries – with its latest outreach to Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is also repositioning itself for South Africa’s coming National Health Insurance scheme “which is being rolled out over the next 10 to 12 years,” CEO Matthew Stephens says.

“Medhold will focus on supporting the state sector as government builds its hospital infrastructure, healthcare professionals, as well as working with the private hospital groups too,” he explains.

With over 20 years of experience in partnering with leading healthcare device suppliers in South Africa – of products ranging from life support equipment, such as anaesthesia machines and ICU ventilators to diathermy plates – Medhold is poised to increase its African expansion.

A member of staff since 1996, Stephens notes a number of highlights, including its management buyout in 1998 when the business was “really, really small”. There was a commitment from management and staff which helped to turn the business around and they went on to make a number of acquisitions between 2004 and 2007.

BBBEE (broad-based black economic empowerment) with its

yearly audits has been an interesting challenge – Medhold has a rating of four - as well as the building of partnerships with South Africa’s private hospital groups, “especially at the higher end of the device market,” Stephens says.

He believes that one of Medhold’s strengths is its loyal staff and the open relationship the company has with them and so offers staff ownership options. “In 2008 we created the Medhold Employee Trust, which acquired 20 percent of the Medhold Group, which the existing owners/management funded.”

The impact was immediate as staff members put in the extra effort for ‘their’ company.

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GE Healthcare in Africa With the advent of the first x-ray technology, GE Healthcare has been active in Africa for over 100 years, working with a range of healthcare providers to develop comprehensive solutions to uniquely African healthcare challenges.

Through its broad portfolio and partnerships across Africa, GE is proud to offer a range of integrated healthcare systems, medical diagnostics, performance and healthcare IT solutions, to promote an earlier model of health. GE’s offerings include those designed to translate in both high and low resource areas and throughout the hospital setting to support better patient outcomes.

Our diverse portfolio of radiology solutions enables quick and accurate diagnosis, providing improved levels of patient comfort, clinical confidence and connectivity, to help clinicians give a more human touch to healthcare delivery.

Moreover, through GE’s global healthymagination initiative, we are at work to increase access to affordable, high quality innovations and technologies that contribute to a sustainable model of care.

“We think this plays to the company’s strengths: the importance we place on relationships with Medhold have been in clients, aftercare services and the the healthcare device partnerships we form with customers industry since 1987 and suppliers. Winning partnerships is critical for our business.”

With that in mind, Medhold is approaching Zambia and Zimbabwe slightly differently, going directly into Zambia but partnering with a local company in Zimbabwe. That’s partly political, taking into account Zimbabwe’s Indigenisation Act which requires local businesses to own 51 percent of a company. However Stephens also stresses that having a partner will mitigate the risks and makes good business sense.

While he is clear about the benefits of going into Africa, the company’s move into SADC came in 2009 after it began finding it harder to attract South African government business.

And it made sense to move into the continent.

“Our overseas suppliers wanted us to look over the border as well because they wanted to increase their footprint in Africa,” Stephens says. “So we made a strategic decision to invest in certain key growth markets despite the challenges they presented.”

The Medhold Group has done business and various projects in countries including Mozambique, Botswana, Nigeria and Angola.

Dealing with private businesses and governments, the company has found that after making an initial good impression,

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At GE we believe that a better model of healthcare is achievable only through collaboration and dialogue with our partners. In 2013 and beyond, with a commitment to nurturing long-term sustainable partnerships and developing solutions that address real areas of need, we are at work for a healthier Africa.

Tel +27 11 653 8818 Email sophie.kasimatis@ge.com

www.gehealthcare.com

We made a strategic decision to invest in certain key growth markets despite the challenges they presented”

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CM

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CMY

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medhold

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Ferno Ferno is a global leader in the manufacture and distribution of emergency patient handling products We have over 3600 innovative, quality products in categories including ambulance cots, stair chairs, backboards, immobilization, search and rescue, oxygen and airway, and mortuary Our sales professionals and distributors are expertly trained to help you select the best product solutions for your needsi

www.ferno.com

Our focus is to represent world leading brands, committed to research and development”

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Medhold offer a full range of services and equipment

Workers put in extra effort for ‘their’ company

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it’s about ‘word of mouth and promises kept’.

So the focus has been on service, relationships and integrity as African stakeholders are prepared to pay for quality products and after-sale services, another Medhold strength.

The company also concentrates on training and skills development, sending specialists into the SADC countries as well as bringing clients back to Johannesburg for ‘frontline training’. Sensitive and expensive medical equipment needs a lot of TLC and Stephens is adamant that Medhold must build up end users’ skills levels.

Situating itself in the middle to high end of the market, it works with a number of suppliers from the U.S. and Europe and has a close relationship with GE Healthcare – Life Support Systems, Getinge Group – Infection Control and niche Maquet Surgical Workplace devices, Conmed Corporation – Electrosurgery and Ferno Washington – Emergency/ Rescue equipment.

“Our focus is to represent world leading brands, committed to research and development, and thereby providing our customers with best of breed technology,” Stephens says.

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Selling equipment that lasts for 10 years rather than needing to be replaced every two to three years fits into Medhold’s ethos of partnerships.

While very positive about the company’s future, Stephens is concerned about the current rand exchange rate and its devaluation against the major currencies. South Africa as an emerging market and part of BRICS is supposed to be ‘on the up’ but “just in the last month the rand has devalued probably 15 percent, which takes its toll in a price sensitive market,” Stephens says.

While countries like Zambia and Zimbabwe have “incredible potential”, he believes that South Africa’s healthcare industry is a great space to be in specifically because of the proposed National Health Insurance Scheme and Private Sector building projects.

Sounding like the partner we would all like to have, Stephens emphasises the lessons learnt over the last 25 years.

“We’re in it for a long-term relationship,” he says.

To learn more visit www.medhold.co.za.

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high road t a k in g

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C O N S T R U C T I O N

Africa Outlook talks to James Popper, CEO of Bophelong Construction, a South African BEE roads, civils and earthworks company.

Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Stuart Shirra

andburg-based Bophelong has an impressive number of completed projects in its portfolio, mostly in Gauteng. Ongoing projects include the upgrade of Allandale Road, work with the SA National Road Agency Limited (Sanral), and several maintenance contracts in both the public and private sector.

“We are a medium sized civil engineering company turning over about R250 million to R300 million per annum,” says CEO James Popper.

“We cover everything from road works – including road maintenance, earthworks and project management – to the installation of municipal services, sewer, water, minor concrete works and building works.

“Through partnering with industry associates, we can also offer a full turnkey design and construction service, providing the perfect solution for any construction project.”

The Allandale Road project is one of Bophelong’s most high profile contracts. Its task is to address traffic congestion issues on what is a very busy road.

It’s going well and will soon be completed.

We cover everything from road works – including road maintenance, earthworks and project management – to the installation of municipal services, sewer, water, minor concrete works and building works”

“The work is part of the Waterfall Development in Midrand, which is a huge property development. The contract value is in the order of R43 million. We have been upgrading, re-grading the vertical alignment, widening the road, constructing a new intersection and relocating a bulk water line. It is a big project.

“We also have had a lot of work come in from Sasol. We have three contracts, maintenance-type contracts.”

Popper says the work, while not high in value, is important in terms of cashflow.

“Of those three, one is worth about R9 million per annum, the second is a R6 million upgrading of an intersection, and the third is a paving contract that will probably be between R5 million and R10 million.

The sum of all three contracts ensures that we will be turning over between R1.5 million and R2 million a month. It is steady income.”

Founded in 1984, Bophelong is a home-grown success story. It was formed by Bryan Westcott as a family business in partnership with his brother-in-law, and chartered accountant, Andrew Vos. Originally, the firm was engaged in very small-scale work, such as building driveways and shopping centre car parks and went on to be involved in more complex construction work for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Bophelong is based in Gauteng and close to 50 percent of its work is carried out in the province. The balance takes place in Limpopo, North West Province and the Freestate.

The company’s client base is apportioned according to a 70:30 ratio, with the majority of its work coming from the public sector, and the balance being sourced in the private sector.

“The Allandale Road project was our first private sector job in some time,” says Popper. “That side of the

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industry fell away in 2008/9 but it is starting to recover “The split is still 30 percent private and 70 government,” he continues.

“Work for municipalities, such as building roads, is a good, steady, reliable source of income, but we have branched out a bit. One of our ongoing contracts is actually for Sanral on the N1 towards Bela-Bela. It is a R50 million contract, only about an hour and a half from Johannesburg. We have another out in Mooifontein close to Mafikeng, upgrading a gravel road to a surfaced road. We have partnered up with a consulting engineer and it is really a turnkey type project. The Sasol work is in the Free State.”

What really sets Bophelong apart in the eyes of its clients, other than its ability to successfully take on projects big or small, is that it can work well under pressure, delivering projects on time, within budget and according to specification.

The level of customer satisfaction is incredibly high.

Bophelong also looks to avoid the escalation of any problems, preferring instead to work together with consulting engineers and the client to overcome such challenges.

“We don’t lose sight of what is important,” Popper says. “I think you have to have the right philosophy within the company and you can’t compromise on quality because you won’t last long or maintain a reputation without it. We have found we have also tightened our controls a lot more as we have grown. I think that was necessary.

A couple of years ago we were turning over R150 million and now we are at the R250 million to R300 million mark and really you have to keep the controls tight – not only in terms of wastage and quality issues, but controlling costs. The better you control the things you can, the better you perform.”

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elite gardens

Work for municipalities, such as building roads, is a good, steady, reliable source of income, but we have branched out a bit”

Elite Gardens are landscaping and design specialists with over 24 years experience. We offer a complete service including, ground preparations, soil improvement, irrigation, instant lawn, water feature construction and working with any other form of landscape materials. We also hire out water carts, tippers and bobcats to the construction and landscaping industry. Reliable service is our top priority, together with our dedicated and enthusiastic team of employees, a solid infrastructure, and hands on management.

Tel 082 444 2850 Email elitegardens@workmail.co.za

www.elitegardens.co.za

C O N S T R U C T I O N

Bophelong is South African born and bred. With a number of firms branching out into neighbouring countries, or at least thinking about it, could African expansion be on the cards?

“Not for the moment,” says Popper.

“We have managed to do reasonably well the last couple of years and I think it is down to our flexibility and versatility - we can do jobs up to about R150 million, and we are comfortable with that, or we can do little ones of R1 million or R2 million.

“We haven’t seen any change in the competitive nature of things at the moment so margins are tight. But there is work out there in South Africa and we are in the fortunate position that our order book is full, certainly to the end of the year. We haven’t had anything like this in years, albeit with lower margins.

“Africa may be on the agenda one day but there are certainly no immediate plans. There is enough work here.”

Bophelong currently has R210 million worth of work on the books with “probably” another R20 million to be awarded in the coming months.

“It is a nice position to be in. We don’t have to go to tender cut-throat prices. Anything we do tender now is at reasonable margins. It is a nice position to be in. Next year, hopefully things will improve further.”

Next year will be Bophelong’s 30th – a fantastic achievement.

“Our success is down to keeping our ear to the ground and knowing what is going on,” says Popper. “It is also about being streetwise: when times are tough you have to knuckle down and do all you can to succeed and you have to learn that you have to perform well in the good times too. It is sometimes human nature to take the foot off the gas when things are going well. Often one could have performed even better during the good times.

“Also, when the going is good, you can be tempted to overstretch. We’ve been aware of that. We don’t take on too much that we can’t control. If you start at a breakneck speed, with lots going on at once, you lose control. It is difficult in construction to manage that and it is out of your hands to a degree. Sometimes you just have too much or too little work because it can be cyclical. We have been lucky that we haven’t had too much; if anything we have had a bit of a slower start to the year than we thought but it will get busier and busier. Of course, the busier you are and the more projects you have, the better the opportunity to increase profits. It is a balancing act.”

Bophelong’s sustainable growth has been impressive and it is continually looking at its skills base and competencies in order to participate in new market opportunities.

To learn more visit www.bopcons.co.za.

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Pe r i

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A f r i c a

Per i ta r g ets

A FR I C A Since May last year, Theunis Visser, Head of Business Development at PERI Southern Africa, has been heading the company’s moves into the continent and he loves it.

Writer Susan Miller Project Manager Stuart Shirra

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A leading German supplier of formwork and scaffolding systems, with its South African subsidiary headquarters in Stellenbosch, PERI delivers to its customers a broad range of services related to formwork and scaffolding technology.

PERI was honoured last year for the third time running with the Golden Arrow Award from the South African Professional Management Review (PMR Africa) publication as the best supplier in the Formwork and Bricks supplier category. The company is looking to expand.

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With numerous branches across South Africa and operating entities in neighbours Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique, Visser’s brief was to look further for opportunities with his appointment covering all subSaharan countries aside from those already mentioned.

And after an exceedingly busy year the firm is actively exploring “a partnership agreement in East Africa” and has “various other partnership offers and opportunities in Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Rwanda and in the DRC”.

PERI Southern Africa carefully planned its African expansion, approaching each county with a PERI Sales Strategy, making the company known through personal contact with

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construction companies as well as involvement in a trade fair or show and getting updates on specific major projects in the region.

“First we will take part as a sponsor and make contact with contractors and professionals involved in construction and from there we develop those contacts into future business,” says Visser.

He stresses that PERI Southern Africa has considered “various types of business models” and is in the final stages of completing an agreement in East Africa “It’s been really successful for us, we’re doing business in a totally different way, which is really refreshing for both PERI and the market and the market really accepts it well.

“It’s a model for West Africa, Central Africa and all over,” says Visser.

Among one of his challenges was to decide where to focus the business first and it came down to East Africa for “various reasons”. The next question was to decide on an entry port, an extremely important decision for a business that relies on the rapid transportation of its goods and materials to construction sites.

This wasn’t made any easier by the fact that many of the ports on Africa’s east coast are congested.

“We are considering two of the major ports after a market study and taking into account logistics and the way we have set the new venture,” Visser says.

The company also had to take into account the routine issue of contractors’ limited ability and foresight due to a lack of drawing and design information during the early stages of a project to decide on what materials are required on their sites until the last minute.

While this hesitance or vagueness “is expected”, it’s harder to deal with if the supplying company has to land materials in remote regions, which can take between “six to 12 weeks”, Visser says.

Entering into business on the east coast “just made sense”.

“If needs be, the material will only be two to three days away for neighbouring countries too.”

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Pe r i

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A f r i c a

While the company considered other countries to set up business in, it decided in the end that it would be more agile if it spearheaded business from a coastal region. Visser stresses that what PERI is offering on Africa’s East coast is “a hub which includes the complete design brief, value engineered solutions to the customer and logistics to place material on site”.

Based on what proposals were decided on, it would then be “easier for the company to mobilise and supply” new construction sites with the correct material at the right time, he says.

“Phase one of the strategy in East Africa will be based on various commercial models, which includes both sales and hire, as long as the model works well. Benefits must be realised to both the customer and PERI. We will look at each transaction on a case by case scenario.”

Land transport has also posed challenges as once materials have reached port they need to be transported on roads, sometimes for long distances into neighbouring countries. While Visser admits the roads are not improving fast enough with consumer demand being high, he says the company has successfully used road freight from South Africa into other countries. “PERI recently on a few occasions offered the complete commercial cycle including the freight and clearing of the goods to the point of destination, which worked well,” he explains.

Visser’s “ideal” for PERI is to now offer its customers a complete package – from value engineering in terms of the concept design to, once the design is agreed on, agreement on the purchase or hire transaction and then for PERI to handle the full export to the site for “the customer if collection at our eastern Africa distribution point is not possible”.

“The more parties you involve into this process we have found, the more

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PERI is a leading supplier of formwork and scaffolding

We are considering two of the major ports after a market study and taking into account logistics and the way we have set the new venture”

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Theunis Visser, Head of Business Development at PERI Southern Africa

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difficult it becomes to control,” and the more time it takes to place material on site, which impacts negatively on the project schedule, he says.

The company is excited by the growth potential in Africa with its development and infrastructure needs, and Visser is focussed on building relationships so that PERI not only attracts repeat business but becomes the preferred company/a supplier that people approach to tackle projects.

PERI also will offer “employment opportunities” as it moves into other countries.

Visser has established a business arm and identified individuals who will take responsibility for specific regions.

The company will be employing local workers in specific countries in the near future, he says.

The last year has been a learning curve but Visser is especially excited about how easily contractors and clients have bought into “the refreshing and professional way of doing business’ and their embrace of ‘our new generation equipment ranges.”

“That is the amazing part,” he says.

Asked if customers have been flexible and ready to embrace the new, his definite response - “We believe they are ready for it”.

To learn more visit www.peri.co.za.

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P r o p e r t y

S e r v i ces

N i g e r i a

I n v es t in Nigeria!

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p r o p e r t y

Erejuwa Gbadebo, CEO of Broll Property Services Nigeria, discusses the “huge potential” of the country’s property industry.

Writer Ian Armitage Project manager James Mitchell

ccording to Erejuwa Gbadebo, CEO of Broll Property Services Nigeria, the country’s real estate industry is one of the most virile and profitable sectors, despite the challenges facing the industry. It is expected to grow.

And fast.

“Nigeria has one of the fastest growing economies in the world with great prospects for investors especially in the real estate sector,” she says.

Foreign investors continue to eye the Nigerian market.

“Nigeria is very important for Broll.

The country is among those leading the charge in Africa’s economic revolution. Its large market, growing middle class and rapidly transforming economy continues to attract international investors who find the opportunities irresistible.”

Broll is headquartered in South Africa and is heavily invested in Africa, believing it is on a “potentially unbeatable” growth and development path for the next two decades, and will increasingly attract global investment.

“There’s been a positive shift in investors’ attitudes to the fortunes of the African continent,” says Gbadebo.

“Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world, the most populous nation in Africa, and there is a huge, huge amount of potential within the real estate market.

“When we entered in 2004, there were many people doing many things but nobody doing what Broll does.

There was a need for us.

“The Nigerian economy is tipped to exceed that of South Africa by the year 2020. So, really it made sense that Nigeria be on the cards for Broll if they wanted market dominance on the continent of Africa.”

Broll Nigeria is involved in almost everything to do with buildings, apart from the design, construction, or demolition of them.

And the firm is benefiting from Nigeria’s retail boom.

“The Nigerian market is a very interesting one and tends to go through trends,” says Gbadebo.

“What Broll tries to do is focus on the trends of the time and set up a core competence in that. At the moment the Nigerian retail environment is achieving considerable growth and it had positive ramifications for us. We offer the full bouquet of propertyrelated services, including property management, facilities management and shopping centre retail consulting, all utilising our Broll-Online™ propertymanagement software solution.

“Retail is where we are achieving the most growth at present and the penetration of South African-owned retailers, for example, like Shoprite, Game Stores, PEP and Mr Price into major Nigerian cities has been attributed to the favourable investment climate and the big market in Nigeria.

“It was only in 2006 that The Palms Mall opened in Nigeria and the industry has boomed since.

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B r oll

P r o p e r t y

S e r v i ces

“The government is trying to make Nigeria investment friendly, with the lifting of bans on some areas of foreign trade, aiding the rise in the number of shopping malls in the country. So it is clear there is a need for this space and Broll is positioning itself as a market leader in retail leasing, research and management.

That is where we are focused.

“Our biggest portfolio in terms of revenue is retail. We manage six shopping centres and are involved in letting at least 10 more.”

Despite obvious challenges – Nigeria suffers a lack of sufficient infrastructure, lack of adequate electricity and there are tax and policy issues, among others – foreign brands and investors haven’t been put off.

Access to land, high cost of finance alongside high cost of construction, a dearth of qualified/skilled professionals, lack of innovative and appropriate building techniques, up-to-date market data and the unclear legal framework are some of the challenges facing the real estate sector in the country.

“What challenges are there?” asks Gbadebo. “For one, there are issues in the legal regime governing land administration in Nigeria and I think there needs to be a review the Land Use Act to correct the challenges associated with land purchase in the country.

Nigeria is very important for Broll.

The country is among those leading the charge in Africa’s economic revolution”

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N i g e r i a

“I don’t see there being a quick fix and I would encourage real estate buyers to make sure they follow the proper procedure, irrespective of the challenge of delays in the process of land acquisition.

“That is where we come in. We can obviously help in this respect as the situation can be complicated.”

Nigerian-born, Gbadebo is keen to promote the country.

“One of the big challenges is Nigeria’s image abroad,” she says. “Some people still view Nigerians with the lens of yesterday. That can be problematic.

“But people are still coming and one of the biggest challenges is actually servicing the number of people who want to be here.

“Nigerians are optimistic people,” she adds. “Nigerians are people who “can do,” whether or not they can or can’t. Nigerians will say ‘we’ll make it

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work’ and they have a desire to make it work. Nigerians are competitive.

Nigerians are entrepreneurial. They are the pioneers.

“Nigeria has a lot of to offer.”

Gbadebo says real estate is the “place to be”.

“I would say to any global real estate person that Nigeria is the place to go.

I am a realist; I’m not an optimist. I believe in Nigeria. I look at it with all its problems and, yes there is work to do, but there is an advantage to being here so come and invest. Capitalism is a very pure motive. There is good honest money to be made in Nigeria.”

Broll has helped revolutionise the Nigerian real estate sector by providing platforms that have created investable real estate and elevated standards in the industry.

“We are often the first choice for multinationals looking to establish

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themselves in this fast growing economy and we can boast of a number of Nigeria’s and the world’s best-known brands like Pfizer, IBM, Siemens, Nokia and Standard Chartered, among our clients list.

“In retail, where we have a huge influence, we advise mall owners that we will look for tenants in three broad categories: multinationals; the nationals, i.e., local players, some of whom we have helped to grow; and locals, those businesses that are local to the neighbourhood. We then focus on helping to grow those local businesses to becoming nationals. We have done it successfully with five or six Nigerian brands that are now becoming national names. One of them has moved into Ghana and is becoming a regional name.

That is what we are doing on retail.

“In residential, if people come and ask our honest opinion, we advise them to ignore high end luxury as it is expensive and most people here can’t afford it. And

when you say middle income, do not look at it in terms of European middle income. Please make sure you provide housing that middle income people here can aspire to buy. We are also talking to and are involved in REITs as well as talking to some of the banks to say “set up credible mortgage schemes because the vast majority of your middle classes abroad don’t buy houses outright cash down”. It is a different mindset. In Nigeria when buying a home, people won’t approach the bank; they’ll put the cash down. That means that many rent and few can afford their own homes.

So our advice to developers is to find land they can afford, come with their own money, set up REITs and build affordable accommodation; people can then pay monthly with interest and in 15 years own the home. We aren’t the biggest player in the market; I have to be honest as we are still young. But we are innovators. We have helped to set a trend in retail that we will try to push into

the residential and commercial sectors.

“Cashflow is important,” she adds. “In the malls we manage, we collect rental quarterly in advance. Tenants know they don’t have to find a year or two or three years rental upfront and this helps with financial management.

“This is now the norm in formal retail and hopefully we will be able to push it down to monthly rentals and then push it into the commercial sector.

We would tell clients who are renting out a building to charge monthly to fill their space and charge an escalation.

If tenants don’t want that, they can then pay the whole year upfront. But offer choice as it helps with cash flow.

Currently there are a lot of people and businesses here that are not moving out of aging buildings because of cash flow. If you want to move, you have to pay two to three years in advance so people don’t move.”

To learn more visit www.broll.com.ng.

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We’re Cleaning

up With over 650 clients in KwaZulu-Natal, SuperClean is one of the most successful privately owned commercial cleaning companies in South Africa.

Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Eddie Clinton

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here are those companies that simply ride the wave of growth of their particular market or industry. When the industry grows, they grow, and when the industry declines, they decline.

Others don’t want to be constantly tied into the success or failure of the market they sell into. They diversify. They want to avoid the catastrophic consequences of a decline in their industry.

But it can be a risky strategy.

Business owners must be able to focus on their new ventures without neglecting their core business, yet in trying to control everything, they risk spreading things too thinly.

Some firms however have been remarkably successful in the

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diversification stakes, spotting and exploiting new market opportunities for their products, using their skills to offer services that complement their core business or simply taking their brands into uncharted territory.

One such firm is KZN-based SuperClean. It is one of the most successful privately owned commercial cleaning companies in South Africa and since inception in 1988 has grown to employ 3,800 people who service a large amount of KZN’s leading companies and organisations.

“It has been a very successful last 12 months,” explains Joel Berger, the firm’s financial manager, when asked how the business is performing in this, its 25th year. “We have grown at a rate higher than 10 percent throughout

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the recession and have taken on some prominent clients, with a few of them being the biggest contracts that we have had to date.”

A lot of growth has come from SuperClean’s contract cleaning business, which forms the core of the business model.

Growth has also been realised from value adding divisions like SuperHygiene, SuperLandscapes and SuperSpecialized.

“That’s right: we are enjoying growth not only in our core business but in all of the ancillary businesses as well, which are all of the valueadd services we have – Superclean Hygiene, SuperSpecialized, SuperLabour, SuperHospitality and SuperLandscapes,” says Berger.

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“We are not only a contract cleaning business. We offer a lot of the other soft services that companies require.

Today, we consider ourselves to be more of a one-stop-shop and those business segments have been growing and we have had some tremendous work opportunities in the value added services that we provide.”

The diversity is a godsend in a highly competitive industry and clients increasingly want “more than just our core providing”.

“Why deal with six different companies when you can deal with one?” Berger asks. “Dealing with just one company makes life easier and it has other advantages such as cost, quick decisions and flexibility.

“The adding of the complementary

services has been driven mainly by the customers. What we did initially was outsource those services to other companies for a time until such a stage where we got big enough to handle it ourselves, which we now do. Hygiene goes hand in hand with contract cleaning. They are complimentary.

Companies need landscaping, they need labour – it all complements each other and adds value to a client. All of it came off the back of contract cleaning and is about providing the client with a high quality and cost effective solution to cover many of the soft services they require from a single service provider.”

He says SuperClean also has a handson style which clients like.

“We’re organised, we’re price competitive, we’re a one-stop-shop, and we have a no-nonsense, hands-on approach.”

The big driving force behind the success of SuperClean is Rene du Toit and his wife, Diana, who founded and continue to run this highly successful business.

“Durban isn’t a massive place,” Rene du Toit says. “A lot of people know each other and you can generate a lot of business through those connections. However, the culture and passion surrounding the way we work has a lot to do with it. We always maintained that if we are a first world company operating in a third world country we can’t fail. If you phone us, we’ll give you a quote today, do the job tomorrow and get it done efficiently.

We try and strive to be a first world company. That could be one of the key ingredients in our success - clients get outstanding service.”

In a bid to “take the company to the next level” investment has been made improving SuperClean’s branding and online presence.

“That is more and more important for our business,” says Berger.

“Internally we have refined a lot of

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LOPAC TISSUE

Laying the foundations for future success

LOPAC TISSUE is one of the largest independent tissue paper product manufacturers in Southern Africa With a National footprint and regional distribution facilities the company is able to supply throughout Sub-Sarahan Africa.

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Contract cleaning is SuperClean’s life blood

systems and we have improved our branding – indeed, we’ve spent a lot of money on our website and getting our brand out there.

“Previously there was minimal spend on advertising, but rather word of mouth and good service in the industry that made our name. We perceived that wasn’t a long term solution and so have invested in that to take the business to the next level.

“If things continue the way they have gone so far, I think we’ll have a very bright future.”

There is a lot of excitement about the SuperLandscapes business. It was formed in 2001 and has shown a lot of potential with steady growth over the years.

“We recently employed Chris Dalzell who is now heading up the division,” says Berger. “He will take the scope of landscaping to another level. We are looking at expanding into different revenue streams

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internationally. He has just returned from Singapore where he was an integral part in the building and creation of the Gardens by the Bay Development.”

We’re organised, “Management are busy working we’re price on business plans to complement the experience he has, as well as to competitive, benefit clients through avenues not we’re a one-stopyet explored,” du Toit adds.

SuperClean is BBBEE accredited shop, and we have a with a level 2 value added no-nonsense, contributor status, and an overall score of 89.48 points. hands-on approach” Its black shareholding stands at 24 percent.

“It is very important to us,” says that could be very exciting and Berger. “Some companies were very challenging at the same time. It could negative about BEE in the early days. become a big part of our business.

We weren’t. We embraced it and we “Chris has an impressive CV, which have gone with it, opening our arms includes over 20 years of experience and have had success from it.” in horticulture and extensive This year is SuperClean’s 25th knowledge in the maintenance of birthday. Now is the time for laying Botanic Gardens, both locally and the foundations for future success.

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ch a i n

“At the start, the plan was just to survive from month to month and it has gone further than I ever expected,” says du Toit. “We are in the top five in KZN as far as companies go and I think we provide the best service out of anyone in the market here.

“I never thought it would get to this size and I think is down to our staff being passionate about their work and sharing a common goal. Everybody understands what we strive for and puts in a lot of hard work.

“Clients are the most important people and they benefit from dedication and motivation – they get a good service.”

SuperClean’s motto says it all - ‘we’re cleaning up’.

“We are excited by the future and are always looking for different avenues to render further turnover from. With the manner in which we are set up now, we foresee many opportunities within the divisions which already exist,” Berger concludes.

“We have imminent plans around expanding further into the South African market and it is something we are looking forward to.”

SuperClean is a company we expect to achieve great things. To learn more visit www.superclean.co.za.

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T e a

C om p a n y

What a

Beau-tea

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Tanganda Tea Company Limited is the largest producer, packer and distributor of tea products in Zimbabwe.

Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Eleanor Watson

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ea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world next to water. It is also responsible for the fortunes of the Tanganda Tea Company, Zimbabwe’s biggest tea grower and producer. It is the bestselling brand of tea in the country and Central Africa and it exports bulk tea leaves all over the world.

But, with Tanganda, tea isn’t the only kid in town.

The past few years have been tough for the trade.

Sure there is always a huge demand for tea but low prices have been prevailing on the world market. This has seen Tanganda diversify into new crops – coffee, avocado and macadamia nut farming in particular to increase earnings.

“Tea is still today a fairly marginal crop,” says Tim Fennell, managing director of Tanganda Tea Estates.

Tanganda owns and operates five estates covering 2,600 hectares of tea, with additional land being developed for the new crops.

The Group is divided into two main operating divisions Agricultural and Beverage.

Fennell says it will put several hundred hectares under macadamia nuts, avocados and coffee.

“We identified those three as the best and most complimentary crops,” he explains. “They are much more profitable and have the added advantage of being less labour intensive and have a much lower water requirement per hectare.

“We do have areas under tea that are not particularly suitable from a terrain and water point of view so we will move them away.”

Tanganda will bring down its tea hectarage to 2,400 and simply “take out” marginal areas.

“We are increasing our hectarage for macadamias and are embarking

on a substantial development of avocados,” says Fennell. “These - and coffee - are very much complementary crops, especially in terms of the time of year that they’re reaped. When you’re only harvesting tea you’re incredibly busy from December to June and quiet for the rest of the year. With these new crops we’ll get a 10-month inflow of cash over 12 months because of the variation of the reaping times. It no longer means the labour force is busy for a certain period and then there’s no work for them. This is the heart of the complimentary crops.”

Tanganda embarked on this diversification 18 months ago. The plan is to have put in 700 hectares of macadamia by December (it has already planted two-thirds and is in small production), 400 hectares of coffee by September (it has half in already) and the majority avocado by the first quarter of next year (it has 500 hectares of which 280 is in).

“It’s going well,” Fennell says.

“We’re happy with the progress.

“In terms of returns, our first coffee will come into production this coming season – 2014 – and it will be its first meaningful crop. The avocadoes will come into production in 2016. Once they are in production that will be an annual thing.

“We will go into major production with the macadamias by 2018.

“I’m excited because if you look at the future trends and even current prices on things like avocadoes, macadamias and coffee – because we would produce a specialised type of coffee – it will do very well. We should add about $20 million per annum to our margin when the crops come into production, unrelated to the developments that are going on with the tea.”

Fennell hints at an important point there – “developments” with the tea.

Although the tea industry has been in the doldrums for the past few years

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In terms of returns, our first coffee will come into production this coming season – 2014 – and it will be its first meaningful crop.

The avocadoes will come into production in 2016. Once they are in production that will be an annual thing”

Tanganda is the largest producer, packer and distributor of tea products in Zimbabwe

there is a bright future for it.

“The main reason for that is the development in the tea drinking market and the ability of people to be able to afford to be able to drink a cup of tea,” he says. “Not in the short-term but in the medium-term we hope to see big growth in world tea consumption which will be far greater than production and therefore the tea industry as a whole will become viable as we go forward.”

Tea prices in many markets have soared this year and many believe 2013 will be a good year for the tea industry.

“I don’t know if I have my figures exactly right, but this is my take: the reality is that, globally, nobody has planted substantial amounts of tea probably for the last 40 years. Now, even if the world suddenly jumped around and started planting it, it would cost a fortune and take at least

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10 years for it to make an impact on the market,” Fennel says. “For something like the last 50 years tea supply has outstripped consumer demand. But demand is going up all the time, with populations getting bigger and incomes improving in developing economies. Places like India and China, who are the biggest tea producers in the world, are actually net importers now because their local demand has grown so much. Really it is relying on African countries – Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe – to pick up on exports that the first world countries need.

We have now got to a crossroads where the two lines of consumption and supply are pretty well on a par and the lines are about to cross, where consumption will outstrip supply. Suddenly an oversupply will become an undersupply and there is only one thing that comes out of that – better prices.

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The estate currently has 2,600 hectares of tea

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“We are already feeling it.”

It is claimed that six out of every ten cups of tea drunk in Britain every day are brewed from a blend containing leaves from Tanganda’s estates. Its major brands include Tanganda, Stella, Silver, Joko, Tanganda Special Blend, Tanganda Tips, Fresh Leaves plus Nella (Rooibos leaf Tea Bags) and Natra (Rooibos loose leaf Tea).

Tanganda, which was founded in 1930 and is based in Harare, is a subsidiary of Meikles Africa Limited.

Meikles was the first company to comply with Zimbabwe’s indigenisation regulations.

It has a bright future.

“As a company we have had some hard years and Zimbabwe as an economy has been pretty trying. I’m sure you are aware of the hyperinflation and everything else. We are bullish about the future. A lot of the very big players in the world now are desperately running around trying to buy up what’s left of the tea estates. We have had a bit of courtship from big players ourselves – I won’t name them – and there is only one reason for that: the shortage of tea plantations. They see that and are trying to have a foot in the door with whatever good tea estates there are left in the world.

“We’re not tempted to sell and I don’t think we would sell. We realise we are on a winning thing here. We still have a couple of lean years to pay for all this development and sort out our historical problems but we would be very loath to give away a stake in this company based on the future we think it has got.”

The new-found optimism about Zimbabwe entering a new era has Fennell excited too.

“It is not much of a secret that there is an upcoming election which is hugely important to the country and the region. I’m confident the country will, post-election andregardless of outcome, have a bright future.

“Zimbabwe could easily – within the next six months – become a sought-after investment destination. Everybody in the country, region and outside the country right now is in a ‘let’s see how the election goes’ frame of mind. There is always nervousness in investment, but from my part, I am confident that no matter the outcome the future will be bright.”

To learn more visit www.tanganda.co.zw.

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H a r d i n g

In wake of Africa is the “new frontier”, the last major unsaturated market of the world that is attracting international trade and foreign direct investment.

Africa Outlook talks with Prahlad Nathwani, the man who runs Toplis and Harding’s operations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Writer Ian Armitage Project manager Donovan Smith

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oplis and Harding can trace its heritage back over 200 years and, from five strategically located offices in East Africa, it provides professional services to “both local and international insurance markets in all aspects of claim handling arising from marine, fire, accident, contractors all risks, liability and special risks policies”.

Of course East Africa is a region on the up.

Trade is increasing. Economies are growing. It is attracting investment.

It all means 2012 -- and so far 2013 -- have been good for the likes of Toplis and Harding.

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“The business is performing very well within a context of regional macroeconomic stability and economic prosperity driven by overall growth in telecommunications, transport and financial intermediation, manufacturing, construction and trade,” says managing director Prahlad Nathwani. “The nature of our business essentially means that more regional economic vibrancy leads to more domestic and international trade, which gives rise to the volume of insurance covers that, in turn, results in more loss adjusting and surveying assignments for the company as and when claims occur.”

Toplis and Harding has always held a “strong position” when it comes

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disaster: the new frontier to winning work from international insurers thanks to its “integrity, efficiency and high quality reporting,” Nathwani says.

It is “renowned” in the local market as one of the “most efficient and capable” team of loss adjusters and surveyors.

“Over the last 12 months, we have consistently been winning work from the local market that is of higher value and more complex in nature,” Nathwani explains. “As challenging as that can be, it also tends to be far more prestigious and better rewarding. At the same time, this means that it may take longer for cases to be completed and fees to be earned!

The business is performing very well within a context of regional macroeconomic stability and economic prosperity driven by overall growth in telecommunications, transport and financial intermediation, manufacturing, construction and trade”

“Amongst the highs, our proudest achievement over the past 12 months has been to become the new Lloyd’s Agent in Rwanda, which is one of the highest honours, as well a serious responsibility in the insurance industry. Today, London is still the largest centre of the global marine insurance industry and Lloyds is at the helm. Getting the opportunity to represent them at several centres in East Africa is a matter of great pride and prestige for us.”

Toplis and Harding is “one of the leading claims handling and marine survey service providers” in East Africa.

And it is looking to grow its team and move into “the next stage of development”.

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Trans Africa Insurance Brokers Limited As We celebrate our 10th Year in Tanzania, We reflect on a strong foundation which has a history of over 40 years that began in Kenya, a company known as H. S. Jutley Insurance Brokers Limited In line with our strategy to have a Regional presence in East Africa, Our Uganda office is now operational in Kampala as H. S. Jutley Insurance Brokers (U) Limited We continue to focus on steady growth by building and maintaining strong client relationships through dynamic risk solutions Tel 022 2666788 Email clientservices@tibtz.com

“We are keen to add young trainees to our team, under the careful guidance of veteran surveyors and loss adjusters, in order to harness the power of the next generation rising in Africa,” says Nathwani. “Many young Africans are now graduating from renowned educational institutions in the West and returning home in search of impactful careers. We believe that their fresh minds and skills can be prudently honed to suit the needs of this industry.”

Insurance still has a low rate of penetration all over Africa.

South Africa’s penetration is about nine percent.

Kenya’s is three percent.

And those are large economies.

So there is plenty of room for growth.

“The East African regional insurance industry has become a progressively vibrant, pluralistic and attractive economic sector,” says

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Nathwani. “By some counts, there are at least 89 local and international underwriters operating in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda alone. The common market phenomenon of the East Africa Community (EAC) has enabled several insurers to easily set up multiple regional offices to extend their presence in the region. The overall volume of claims has naturally been boosted by the increasing proportions of insured business ventures in East Africa, both marine and non marine in nature.

“Toplis and Harding is wellpositioned to grow in the stride of the region’s economic growth, buoyed by boundless natural resources and political stability.”

East Africa is one Africa’s most resource-rich regions and is currently experiencing boosted international trade and stable economic growth.

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The East African regional insurance industry has become a progressively vibrant, pluralistic and attractive economic sector”

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Prahlad Nathwani

The region’s ports are handling increasing loads of marine cargo for the export and import of goods to and from the continent.

They also act as major transportal links in the marine route from Asia to the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

“The port of Dar-es-Salaam, where our head office is based, is strategically located as an access corridor for landlocked African countries such as the DRC, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Malawi and the likes,” Nathwani explains. “Similarly, 16 out of 54 countries on the African continent are landlocked and at the same time, their populations are growing at astounding rates. Whereas the population of the continent was 800 million in the year 2000, it is over one billion today. Although there is plenty of room for improvement, geographers and socio-economists

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are noting that overall, life expectancy is gradually growing, and health by many measures is improving on the continent. The geopolitical implications are that the continent is now the new frontier, the last major unsaturated market of the world that is attracting international trade and foreign direct investment. Urbanisation is picking up pace, resulting in more construction projects; demand for food, imported goods; and need for tertiary services like telecommunications and banking are on the rise.

“We can sum up the essence of African opportunity in the renewed bargaining position that Africa has secured at the table of globalisation, owning to its untapped markets and abundant natural resources.

Since the turn of the century Africa’s geopolitical presence on the stage of globalisation has been reinforced with China becoming its leading trading partner. Adding to that, the latest discoveries of oil and gas dotting the continent have led to a massive injection of capital for further exploration projects.”

East Africa current suffers from “overall skills shortages”.

This is a challenge Toplis and Harding is working to overcome, Nathwani says.

“Like many other market leaders in this region, we employ qualified personnel from other countries to manage our regional operations in order to ensure consistency in the quality of our assessments and reports above all. Having said that, the majority of our employees are local, many of whom have had previous experience working at the ports and in insurance companies and receive thorough training under the watchful attention of our senior managers. Our highly trained professional personnel include Fellows of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (FCILA), chartered insurance practitioners (F/ ACII), chartered arbitrators, chartered

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A damaged house

Company at a glance

The company which today is known as Toplis and Harding is the direct descendants of the business established over 200 years ago. It provides professional services to both local and international insurance markets in all aspects of claim handling arising from marine, fire, accident, contractors all risks, liability and special risks policies.

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We are keen to add young trainees to our team, under the careful guidance of veteran surveyors and loss adjusters, in order to harness the power of the next generation rising in Africa”

and forensic accountants, engineers, agronomists, marine and aviation surveyors and investigators.

“Insurance companies, who are our ultimate principals and paymasters, find that we are a credible, reliable and efficient claims handling company. We consistently apply the rules of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (UK) of which we are members, we investigate claims and perform surveys thoroughly, and provide clear, analytical and well-written reports. We have a wealth of experience in arranging surveys and loss adjustments in a wide range of fields and nuanced knowledge of how to get work done in Africa, all of which we rely upon time and time again.”

Nathwani’s goal is for Toplis and Harding to open up “offices or sub-agencies” in East, West, South and North Africa in order to “efficiently and cost-effectively” administer claims services all over the continent.

He also wants to increase capacity to “configure the services exactly as our clients demand”, anytime and anywhere in Africa.

To learn more visit www.toplisandharding.com.

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e v ents Armoured Vehicles Africa 76 Portland Place London United Kingdom 2 -4 July 2013 www.armouredvehiclesafrica.com 2nd East Africa Oil and Gas Summit (EAOGS) Intercontinental Hotel City Hall Way 00200 Nairobi Kenya 29-30 October 2013 www.eaogs.com PHP South Africa 2013 Venue to be announced Cape Town South Africa 4-5 October 2013 www.phpsouthafrica.com Africa Hospitality Show 2013 Accra International Conference Centre Castle Road 1054 Cantonments, Accra Ghana 12-14 September 2013 www.africahospitalityshow. com

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Sports Sponsorship and Marketing The Wanderers Club Illovo Johannesburg South Africa 16-18 July 2013 http://iir.co.za/index.php/ conferences/view-all-events/item/ sports-sponsorship-marketing The Enterprise Technology Show Africa 2013 Sandton Convention Centre Johannesburg South Africa 29-30 October 2013 www.terrapinn.com LogiAfrica The Gallagher Convention Centre Johannesburg South Africa 2-3 October 2013 www.wbresearch.com/logiafrica/ home.aspx Tech4Africa 2013 Focus Rooms The Core 1st Floor South, Cnr Kikuyu and Leeuwkop Streets Sunninghill Sandton South Africa 9-10 October 2013 tech4africa.com/event/ tech4africa-the-annualconference/

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IEEE AFRICON 2013 Le Meridien-Ile Maurice Village Hall Lane, Pointe Aux Piments, Mauritius 9-12 September 2013 http://africon2013.org/ Tech4Africa Nairobi 2013 Strathmore iLab & Business School Ole Sangale Road Madaraka Nairobi Kenya 3 July 2013 tech4africa.com/event/ tech4africa-nairobi/ Mastering SAP Technologies South Africa The Maslow Hotel Sandton Johannesburg South Africa 29-31 July 2013 www.masteringsap.com/tech_sa Asia Global Fair 2013 Venue to be announced Lagos Nigeria 27-29 August 2013 www.asiaglobalfair.com

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